May Always Turns to Summer
by cloud9cas
Summary: Kuwabara May, cousin to Kazuma and Shizuru, has always been spiritually aware like her cousins. What happens when she her senses step up a notch and she is suddenly having memories that are not her own? Let the tournament training begin!
1. Murders and Cards

**-Murders and Cards-**

The faint smell of a rose garden tickled Kuwabara May's nose and she turned her face in the direction of the man that had stirred the air as he passed by her. It felt strange, his aura but all she could see was his back, locks of red hair blowing in the winds of Tokyo. May shook her head, disregarding what she referred to as her "sixth sense" as she continued reading the headlines of the newspaper. Another killing spree had ensued, the fourth of such a violent nature in the last six months. Her eyebrows drew together as she read the list of victims. "Hazayaki Michiru, Masamune Yuke, Tatakani Kai…" she read under her breath. So many names of people she might have met in the future but whose lives had been snuffed out so prematurely. "…Po Misao!" she exclaimed, louder than she had meant to causing some nearby pigeons to startle.

Her eyes zoned out on the name. May had been classmates with the girl and had just talked to her in the local convenience store two days prior. It bothered her not just because she knew the person but also because that meant the killer had to be close by. "Unless he's moved on to the next piece of the city," she said quietly. She closed her eyes tightly for a moment before folding up the paper and walking over to a recycling bin.

"Hey, excuse me, but if you're done with that could I take a look?" spoke someone behind her. Having already felt him walk up to her May turned to look at the boy calmly. His aura is strange, too, May thought as she sized him up briefly. He had a raw look to his brown eyes that instilled trust and distrust at the same time. A punk, she thought without really searching for the word. She let out some air through her nose as she smiled to herself. Whatever.

"Be my guest," she said quietly, handing him the neatly folded paper.

"Heh, thanks," he said grinning taking the paper and sitting on the bench she'd just vacated. She turned to leave but glanced at his face to see his reaction to the headline on the front page. His grin had disappeared and he seemed to be reading intently, his dark brows lowering over his eyes. His hair was neatly combed back with gel and she wondered why someone would bother but then dropped the thought as she started to walk away. She breathed in the air, the smell of roses finally fading with the more prominent smell of the atmosphere before a heavy down pour.

May looked up at the sky, tilting her head in thought as she continued walking, the park transitioning into the busier part of the city. She was soon in the middle of a crowd which moved across a couple of intersections before they broke off into smaller groups heading to their destinations.

The remainder of the crowd which she continued to stand in stopped and she let her gaze drift back to earth as she waited for the crosswalk signal to change. It had been a while since she'd been in this part of Tokyo but she had been putting off visiting her relatives for long enough.

May had been living on her own for a year now and hadn't seen her cousins during that time. She sighed as she remembered the phone call she'd received from Kuwabara Shizuru. "You'd better get your butt back here to visit Kazuma and I! Oh, I know! This weekend, it's my birthday and Kazuma's treat. Be there!" She chuckled gently, hearing her cousin Kazuma shouting in the background that he had made no such promise but with Shizuru having said it, the war had already been won. And there's nothing wrong with a free meal now and then, May thought to herself as she crossed the street with the still smaller crowd. Feeling a drop of rain on her nose she rubbed the sleeve of her trench coat across it to dry it before popping out her clear-shell umbrella. Not two seconds later, it began to pour and May smiled. It had been some time since it rained.

The glory was short-lived though as she approached the small hole-in-the-wall café that Shizuru had picked out for the reunion/birthday/drain Kazuma's wallet date. Her smile became subdued as she walked in, carefully shaking out her umbrella before closing it and moving up to the receptionist's desk. "Hello, ma'am, how may I help you?" asked the young woman behind the desk.

"I'd like a table for three, please. And put it under Kuwabara so the rest of the party can use it for reference," she said quietly, her smile having hid itself as she crossed the threshold of the business. The hostess nodded and picking up three menus guided May to a small booth in the corner of the building, windows being on the one side.

"Will this do?" the hostess asked as May sat down on one of the benches. "Yes, thank you," May said quietly. She ordered a hot chocolate as she waited for Kazuma and Shizuru to arrive. May pulled out her cell phone and checked the time. Her cousins were running late, it already being fifteen minutes since they had planned to meet. Leaning back against her seat, May gazed outside and saw the rain still coming down in torrents.

"Ma'am, your chocolate," a waitress said and May looked over seeing a young woman, younger than herself putting the mug on the table. There was whipped cream atop the beverage with chocolate sprinkles and May had to smile just slightly.

"It looks wonderful," May said nodding to the girl. The girl grinned and nodded asking if there was anything else that she could get for May currently which May declined and sent the girl on her way. May swiped a finger into the whipped cream and stuck it in her mouth as she looked back outside. The sidewalks were still incredibly crowded in spite of the rain and she mildly envied them. She'd rather be out walking in it than waiting for her cousins to arrive.

She was about half way done with the chocolate when she finally heard the hostess saying, "And here she still sits, waiting." Her tone was cheery but there was a slight undercurrent as if she were chastising the late comers. May looked up to see Shizuru looking bored at the hostess while Kazuma was going goo-goo over the poor girl. May laughed slightly through her nose as she stood up. "Better late than never as I always say," she said warmly.

"Ah, May! I'm sorry we were late; it was this blockhead's fault. He neglected to tell his employer that he needed to get off early today to accommodate our schedules," Shizuru explained, knocking Kazuma in the head before embracing her tiny cousin.

"Like I said, Shiz, it's better than if you had stood me up," May said turning her gaze to her male cousin. Kazuma stopped rubbing his head where his sister had knocked him and looked down at May with a slightly shocked expression before bursting into laughter.

May's eyebrow rose slightly as she looked at him. "I don't see what's so funny, Kazuma," she said quietly with the undercurrent of danger she usually spoke to him with when he laughed at her or for no apparent reason. He pointed at her, teary-eyed.

"You haven't grown at all!" he said rather loudly. After looking at him for a moment more, May decked him before sitting down calmly across from Shizuru. May had never been very tall but she had been perfectly content with her 5'5". Shizuru ordered a Diet Coke from the waitress and sent the girl on her way when Kazuma hadn't gotten up from the floor.

"Man, May, you might not have grown height wise but you're sure a lot stronger than you were a year ago," Shizuru said as she looked at her kindly. May looked up with a slight light of surprise in her eyes.

"Is that so?" she asked softly before turning back to her cocoa for a sip before giving a soft "oh" and reaching into her trench coat pocket. She handed a small, meticulously wrapped gift to Shizuru. "Happy Birthday, you old lady," she teased lightly, wrapping both hands around her mug after her brown haired cousin took the present from her.

"You didn't have to, May," Shizuru said opening it in spite of her words. May simply shrugged, her red tipped curls slipping off her shoulders. "By the way," Shizuru continued as she unwrapped the present slowly, "I like what you've done with your hair, it suits you although people who don't know you would beg to differ."

'Thanks," May said smiling a little more brightly. Her hair, which was naturally black, had currently acquired red, two-inch long tips, thanks to her hairdresser. May was generally very quiet but she had an edge to her that only her closest friends and family knew about. Others simply saw the sweet girl image they expected of her and she delivered like a skilled actress.

"Ah, May! It's the movie, Blood Tears that we saw before you moved out and on your own. You're always thinking," she said with a warm smile. May returned it adding a shrug as she looked away to see Kazuma had finally joined them at the booth. He had a new swelling on his cheek from where she'd decked him and she shook her head mentally. The waitress had come back with Shizuru's drink and asked for Kazuma's and to see if they had their orders figured out. "The Chicken Ponzite with an egg roll and wantons, please?" May ordered. She always looked at a café/restaurant's menu before going and thus was always ready.

Shizuru ordered something with steak as did Kazuma and the waitress nodded before walking away. The three of them made small talk mainly consisting of the siblings asking May about her time living by herself. It hadn't been too exciting. She'd gotten a job and worked for her living but was soon going to quit so that she could spend her time at the music academy just a few hours away.

"You're going to go even farther away?" Kazuma exclaimed over their food. May stopped her fork halfway to her mouth and lowered it looking at her cousin and nodding.

"It's not like I come to visit that often anyway so it won't be much different, Kazuma. Besides, I need to do something with myself other than arranging flowers for the rest of my life." Kazuma continued to mutter and May wrinkled her forehead in confusion. Why did it matter so much to him?

"Well, I'm behind you, May. Besides you shouldn't let your talent go to waste so the music academy will be just the thing," Shizuru said elbowing Kazuma in the side. May hummed shortly nodding her head before letting her gaze move to her almost empty plate. There were a few pieces of cabbage and leek left and she pushed it away, drinking the rest of her chocolate before moving to stand.

"It was nice catching up with you two, but the last subway home tonight leaves in about fifteen minutes and it'll take me at least ten to walk to the station," May said moving out of the booth and looking down at her cousins. Kazuma was still muttering but Shizuru blinked once before saying, "I don't think so, May." May looked at Shizuru in shock. "What I mean to say, hun, is that you are staying at our house tonight."

"But I have work tomorrow!" exclaimed May, her blue eyes flashing with alarm as Shizuru shook her head.

"Nah, I already took care of it. I called your mother to ask for the name of the flower shop you work for and called in to say you were taking vacation. You're here for the weekend," Shizuru said with a wry smile. "And don't worry about clothes. Mom discovered some you left behind when you moved out and she also said if you need more it would be her treat for us to go shopping." May rubbed her face with her hand. "Well, Kazuma, we'll leave the bill to you seeing as you're going out with the guys. Make sure you actually come home tonight, will ya?" Shizuru said as she and her brother stood. He began to protest but a sharp look silenced him and grumbled.

"Fine fine, but Urameshi might crash at our place." May raised a curious brow but Shizuru shrugged her shoulders and towed May out of the café into the sprinkling rain by her elbow.

May barely glanced at the exterior of the Kuwabara residence before Shizuru pushed open the door and towed her in behind her. She shrugged out of her jacket, looking around the place. It was exactly as she had left it a year before and she smiled slightly in appreciation. Ditching her shoes at the entry way, May followed Shizuru into the living room and sat down at the low table as her cousin pulled out a deck of cards. It triggered another smile as May remembered their long conversation filled nights during which they would play random card games.

Shizuru began to deal easily into two separate decks and, handing one to May, turned over a card from her own stack and a game of War commenced. They played quietly for a few minutes before Shizuru got up and turned on the radio onto her favorite station and sat back down. They continued their game like that for a bit before May thought about Kazuma.

"So, Shiz. Is the job Kazuma's doing the same as the one he's been into these last few years?" she asked, thinking back to how Kazuma used to come home with various nicks and scratches and sometimes even broken bones after disappearing for a couple weeks at a time.

"Yep, same one. It pays well enough so I don't complain. I just wish he would come home a little more often than he does. He actually just got back from being gone for a month and I told him that he better be around for longer than two weeks before his next assignment. He assured me that his latest assignment has been made to keep him here for a good couple months at the least," the older girl explained as she swiped her tenth win in a row. May hummed lightly at this and let their silence fill with the radio's music.

"Neh, Shiz?" May asked nonchalantly.

"Yeah May?"

"What is the name of the work Kazuma does?" May asked, keeping her eyes on the cards and table. Shizuru froze momentarily before flipping over a two to which May flipped a five and won the round. May had been really thinking about her male cousin's work a lot the last few months after realizing that she wasn't going to be able to keep up work at her own job while at the same time going to the academy.

"Well, I guess he calls it detective work," Shizuru said rather vaguely. May placed her cards on the table and looked up at her cousin. "Why do you ask, May?"

"Oh, I'm looking into a part time job so that I keep the money coming in while I attend the academy," she said, watching for Shizuru's reaction. It was subtle but May saw her cousin's gaze shift slightly to the right.

"I'd keep looking, if I were you. I don't think Kazuma's employer is hiring currently," Shizuru said putting her cards on the table and looking May in the eye. May hummed quietly, neutrally as the sound of people outside the door to the residence sounded and Shizuru looked up behind May. The door opened and May heard Kazuma complaining about something and she laughed through her nose lightly, turning her body to look at the entryway.

Kazuma walked in with a familiar looking boy with honest brown eyes. "Hey," May said. The boy looked directly at her for a moment then, mirroring each other, they pointed and said, "It's you." Kazuma looked at May then his friend then exclaimed, "You know each other?!"

"Well, 'know' would be a relative description," May said shrugging.

"Yeah, we interacted earlier this afternoon," the boy said at the same time May said, "He asked for my newspaper." They looked at each other and the boy laughed. "Gosh, Kuwabara. I thought it was amazing that Shizuru was your sister but if this one is the cousin you mentioned then it really begs the question, 'what went wrong with you?' now doesn't it?" the boy asked and Shizuru laughed as Kazuma looked about ready to kill.

"And if you're the friend Kazuma referred to earlier then you're Urameshi," May said easily, standing up and taking a few steps closer. The boy grinned and nodded.

"You got that right. Urameshi Yusuke," he said extending his hand to her.

"Kuwabara May," she answered taking his hand and giving it a firm shake. He smiled but it faded suddenly. He looked confused.

"You're the one I've been sensing this whole time?" he asked. It was May's turn to look confused as Kazuma shrugged.

"May's always felt like that," Kazuma said looking at Shizuru who nodded in agreement. "Felt like that"? What did they mean? May looked from one to the other and then back at Yusuke. Kazuma caught his eye though and shook his head almost imperceptibly. Before May could remark on the exchange, Yusuke shrugged.

"Right right, I guess it doesn't matter." He looked down at the table to see their cards and asked, "Were you playing a game before we came?" May only nodded as Kazuma decided rather loudly that he wanted to play too and thus the topic they'd been discussing was swept under the rug and they sat down to a game of Go-Fish.

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_Casidhe here! I know... another fanfiction for me to keep up on? But never fear! I will continue to write the other two. Let me know what you think! 3_


	2. Dreams and Questions

**-Dreams and Questions-**

May didn't learn much from the three of them for the next couple hours except for the fact that Kazuma and Yusuke tended to fight quite a bit. Her constant yawning cued Shizuru into suggesting that she go to sleep in the back room. May's cousins and Yusuke still looked alert and ready to continue their little "party" but although she wouldn't admit it, the work May did was starting to wear on her with its monotony and predictability. She pursed her lips briefly but, giving into another yawn, gave in and standing up, bid the trio a good night and walked into Shizuru's room.

She shook her head seeing that her cousin had even set up a separate sleeping area for her coupled with a pair of her old sweats and a tank top. She changed lazily into these and without bothering to pull back the blanket that Shizuru had put on the little inflatable mattress, collapsed onto it and fell quickly into sleep. In the fog of sleep, May stumbled into a dream where she could see the aura of the people around her as if it were a tangible substance. She walked through the crowds, looking back and forth at the faces, never quite catching their features.

She was looking for someone, that much she knew but who and why? She felt a strange panic begin to build in her chest as she continued to search for the illusive person. Her dream feet picked up as she began to run, her gaze constantly scanning the "faces" of the crowd when suddenly she noticed that someone had their back to her. They were walking away from her on her left and she stopped running and watched the person, their red hair blowing softly behind them in the sudden wind.

The wind picked up as May started to walk after the figure, hesitantly at first but then quicker realizing this had to be the person she was searching for. The aura told her it was a he and although the size of it should have shocked her, she was drawn to the red like a moth to a flame.

"Wait!" she shouted into the wind as it pushed past her, whipping her black and red curls away from her face. Despite the wind, the boy must have heard her for he started to turn his face to her but before she could see it she tripped and began to fall down, down, down into an enveloping mist. She screamed as she fell, waiting to hit the rock bottom that she was sure awaited her but after a time, her body started to slow its descent and she felt herself float to a standstill where her feet touched down and she vaguely registered her change of apparel. She wore an Edo era kimono complete with the sandals and socks of the time. She stood in front of a large ornate door and reaching out her hand, it swung inward away from her and she found herself in a cavernous hall that was completely empty.

"Hello?" she called. There was no answer as she let her feet inexorably pull her forward and pass the threshold. The door swung shut with a loud bang and the lights in the hall started to blow out, being lit by lanterns hung on the walls. She gasped and began to run as quickly as her kimono allowed her and the lanterns continued to blow out a couple feet in front of her. She ran and ran like this until a far wall with another door finally loomed up and the only lanterns that remained lit were on either side of the door. Looking back over her shoulder, May only saw pitch blackness. She swallowed uncomfortably and reached to the door handle and the door swung open at the brush of her fingertips.

Beyond it was dark except for a single light shining down from where she assumed was the middle of the room. The light shone on a head of silver hair and May walked slowly forward, clearing the threshold once more to be given a door at her back. She moved almost reluctantly toward the figure, his head bowed, his aura unreadable. A small voice nagged in the back of her head not making much sense as it told her that the only faces she could see were those she had seen before. Another piece of her believed that whole heartedly but her dream self pushed it away and she was absorbed in the moment once more.

As she got closer, she could see the figure was chained to where he stood and upon his head were a pair of animal ears. She reached her hand out to the head of the creature but he didn't move. Swallowing again, she let her fingers touch the crown of his head and then his ears, the strangely ornate sleeve of her kimono brushing over knees that she realized indicated that he was sitting. The shock went through her that his being almost her height while sitting bowed like this must mean he was a giant of a man. But then she noticed her hand was smaller than she remembered it being and the man was growing bigger although he didn't move. She cried out as she noticed she was somehow aging backward and when the man finally looked at her she was much as she had been at the age of five.

She remembered the kimono she wore as the one her aunt had bought for her for the New Year's celebration that she and her cousins were going to. She gasped, her child-voice manifesting itself. She was looking up into a pair of golden eyes that reminded her of a fox. He was staring at her intently and her blue eyes widened slowly as she felt herself falling into the golden gaze. She felt her body jerk up and the scene changed to her floating in nothingness, the image of a pregnant woman hanging before her in the mists. Her aura was warm and motherly but shifted slightly as a golden light pierced her body. It didn't seem to warrant a reaction from the woman but May could see the child within her glowing faintly, the golden mist clinging to it, changing its aura from a burnt orange to a warm red, a color that was strangely familiar with a distinct tang to it but before she could place where she'd felt it before, the dream blacked out and May was left in a cold sweat as the day's light fell upon her through the window.

May slipped into the bathroom, clothes and towel tucked under her arm and sighed gently. The same dream had followed her ever since she was five years old, the year she came into her "spirit awareness" as her guidance counselor had told her mother. However, it seemed that the intensity and frequency of the dream had been rapidly increasing over the recent months, leaving May more tired than not after a full-nights rest.

She let the hot water soothe her tired body as she looked blankly up at the small window above her head that let in the sunshine. After it had rained so hard the day before she was surprised the clouds had blown over so quickly. She was grateful for the sunshine though, her tired mind unsure of whether she'd be able to handle such weather for too long.

She finished her shower quickly and dressed into her dark-wash skinny jeans with the plum-colored quarter-sleeve top. The familiar smell of her cousins took over her and she smiled gently. Not but a year ago she shared the same smell and now it was no longer hers but in memory.

She looked at herself in the mirror critically and saw the dark circles under her eyes. She tsked lightly before running a comb through her hair and looked around for a hairdryer. She found one in the lower cabinet and hooking it up, used it to dry her hair which had a wonderful habit of curling just how she wanted it to and, leaving it down, she left the bathroom and tossed her clothes into the laundry basket beside the door. She smelled the coffee brewing and quiet voices and sounds coming from the kitchen.

Walking closer, she heard Yusuke answering a question she hadn't heard. "I think we should take her to Koenma. She seems like a likely target for that dang woman that's been murdering all the people in the papers."

May stopped, leaning against the wall, and listened to their conversation. "I don't know Urameshi. I don't know if May realizes that her spirit awareness isn't natural for a human and I don't think there is any reason to go getting her mixed up with the Spirit World unless we have solid evidence that that woman will come after her." That was Kazuma. She knew her heightened senses weren't "natural" but who was Koenma? And what the heck was the Spirit World?

"I don't know Kuwabara. I think it would be better to be safe rather than sorry in this case. Besides! Shizuru admitted that May has been asking questions about our job," Yusuke interjected.

"I said she asked what Kazuma was up to, and that was only one question. It hardly qualifies as an investigation," Shizuru said calmly. "Plus, I don't think you can get away with not explaining it anymore."

There was a pause in the conversation before both boys chorused, "Huh?" Shizuru chuckled and explained, "She's been standing around that corner for a good couple of minutes now and I'm sure she heard you mention Koenma and Spirit World. Koenma's right, you guys are getting rusty on your sensing skills." Having been found out, May walked around the corner and leaned against the entryway to the kitchen, her arms crossed over her chest.

"So, who's Koenma?"

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_So, it would seem a few people read or at least glanced at the first chapter. No reviews, follows or favorites yet... perhaps that will change after this chapter?_

_I hope you enjoyed it!  
_

_Casidhe  
_


	3. Lightning and Roses

**-****Lightning and Roses-**

After May had asked the question, Yusuke and Kazuma had given her a look of the deepest chagrin and promised that all her questions would be answered that evening. They had left soon after to "go to work" and left May with Shizuru. There was a particularly long awkward silence at that point during which May had stared at Shizuru, willing her to tell her what she knew.

After a good ten minutes, Shizuru had sighed and walked to the fridge. "It's pointless for you to look at me like that, May. The boys said they would answer your questions this evening so you'll just have to wait until then." May pursed her lips continuing to look at Shizuru relentlessly. Her cousin sighed and walked passed her and out of the kitchen. May looked down at the table as her mind buzzed with curiosity. Shizuru poked her head back into the kitchen. "Neh, are you coming? I promised Yusuke I would be a distraction for his girlfriend while he works today," she said, shrugging into a windbreaker.

"Might as well," May sighed standing and retrieving her short trench coat and, pulling her boots on hastily, walked out the door after Shizuru. Her cousin locked the door and walked onto the sidewalk looking both ways before choosing the left and continuing. May followed, letting her gaze turn up and seeing that the clouds were drifting across the sky. Following the trail where the clouds became thicker, May saw that another storm seemed to be closing in on their piece of Tokyo.

Her spirit brightened slightly, welcoming the rain. She hated how it always seemed to rain while she was working and trapped inside and so appreciated that the weather had decided to go the way she wished it to. She smiled inwardly remembering one time telling Shizuru how much she loved the rain and the look of disgust she'd received. Shizuru had then complained that it was wet and cold when the storms came through and Kazuma complained that the thunder was too loud. Shizuru had quickly translated that into his having a fear of thunderstorms. May had laughed for quite some time after that, not knowing how someone could be afraid of something so beautiful and magnificent.

Her gaze drifted to Shizuru's back and she tilted her head in thought. Her cousin was a good head or so taller than her with long but thin brown hair. She was tough and usually smoked cigarettes which reminded May. "Hey, Shiz. I haven't seen you smoke once since I've been here," she remarked lightly. Her cousin tossed a look over her shoulder and shrugged.

"I haven't been stressed lately," she responded. So, it's not that she had quit, May thought to herself with a somewhat sad tone. She hated the smell and knew it wasn't good for Shizuru to smoke as much as she did. She also knew it wasn't stress that caused her cousin to smoke. But why, then, would she say such a thing? May observed her quietly and covertly as they reached a crosswalk that they had to wait for. Maybe she was giving it up and didn't want to bring too much attention to it.

The light allowed them to walk and May saw a mall looming before them. She didn't hate malls but they weren't her favorite place either. "We're going to the mall?" she asked dryly, casting a sideways glance at her cousin who shrugged.

"It's where Keiko was going to drag Yusuke so to be a distraction, Keiko needs to be able to continue on with what she'd planned just in different company. I've actually done this a few times, more often as of late it seems but the boys are working on a really tough case currently…" she said trailing off as if to stop the sudden flow of information she was providing May.

May turned her face away irritated by the abrupt appearance and easy dropping of the topic that was currently driving her insane. She continued to watch the people as they walked by before she realized she was unconsciously searching each face as if she would recognize someone. She shook herself mentally and forced her eyes to rest on the mall that was getting closer. There was a shorter-haired brunette looking as though she were waiting for someone right outside of the main entrance. She looked as though she were treading the fine line between crying and getting angry.

"Oi, Keiko!" Shizuru called out which caused the brunette to look up in mild surprise. As the cousins drew closer to her, Keiko began to look suspicious. "Hey, Shizuru, what are you doing here?" she asked, her gaze still casting over the rest of the oncoming traffic. She was still looking for Yusuke, May decided in slight surprise. He hadn't even warned her of the switch. Oh man, this didn't bode well.

"Well, funny you should ask, Keiko but first I'll do some introductions. Keiko this is my cousin, Kuwabara May," Shizuru said with an expression that was torn between pleasant and cautious, pulling May front and center. May tripped slightly but caught her footing again, having to look up a little to see into Keiko's face.

"It's nice to meet you, Keiko," she said politely holding a hand out for her to shake. Keiko looked down at her and shook her hand but May could see she was about to lose it and thus, after the handshake, took a step away from both Keiko and Shizuru.

"Shizuru," Keiko's voice was strangely calm which caused May to look back at her. She let shock take over her features as she watched Keiko opt for the tearful approach. "Where's Yusuke? I haven't seen him this whole week even though he said he'd be back on Sunday!" Keiko was full out crying and Shizuru tried to calm her as May looked around to see faces in the crowd staring at the scene.

"Neh, Shizuru, let's take this somewhere more private," May said starting to feel extremely uncomfortable. Shizuru nodded her head in agreement guiding Keiko gently but swiftly into a small café next to the mall. By the time the three reached the quiet interior, Keiko had controlled her tears enough to leave only an annoying hiccup. May lead the way to a table in the furthest corner near the window and took the chair closest to the window so she could watch the people outside of it. Shizuru and Keiko sat in the other two chairs.

May cupped her chin in her hand as she watched the clouds close in swiftly, listening to Shizuru trying to calm Keiko who was calmer but on the verge of hysterics. Shizuru was telling her that Yusuke had promised to drop by to see her that evening but May, keeping a straight face, smiled to herself for the boy had made no such statement. Her cousin also promised the distraught girl that Yusuke always thought of her even if he didn't always act on it. May restrained her eyes from rolling at the notion of a guy thinking about one particular girl always. She had never come across it and was pretty skeptic about the whole "love" theory.

As she remembered her skepticism cultivated over the years, May saw a girl running into the arms of a man just outside the window. They spoke briefly before they kissed. A small crease formed between her brows at the display of this "love" she'd seen in the movies and read about in books. She blinked, looking away from the "happy couple" and saw that it had started to rain. A strike of lightning lit the sky followed incredibly close by a rumble of thunder.

"The storm must be close by," Shizuru said pulling May's attention back to her company. She looked briefly at Keiko, whose eyes were slightly puffy from her crying and then locked gazes with her cousin.

"I think it would be smart to go back home," May said, "with such a storm as this, it's only a matter of time before the power is knocked out and the mall closes." Shizuru watched her for a moment before nodding.

"I agree. Besides, I don't think any of us feel much like shopping right now," she replied looking over at Keiko. May looked over at the girl too and saw that she was gazing outside. May turned her face then her eyes to see another couple walking by the window, tucked close to each other under an umbrella. Her eyes flickered back to Keiko and she saw the longing in her eyes. Her brow furrowed as she watched the girl sigh rather forlornly before looking up at her. May's eyes flickered back out the window avoiding being caught staring. After a moment more she pushed her chair back from the table and buttoning her coat up the rest of the way she started to walk toward the entrance of the café. She heard Shizuru pop open an umbrella and offer to share it with Keiko.

"What about May?" the girl asked. May simply continued walking a few steps ahead of her two companions.

"She has the strangest inclination to the rain and it doesn't seem to bother her when it soaks her through," Shizuru explained in a determinedly bored voice instead of the distaste she usually regarded May's enjoyment of the rain and a good soak. As they walked, May's hair slowly became saturated; the curls weighed down and clumped together by the rain.

She was quite sure she was as wet as she had been after her shower that morning when she suddenly stopped feeling the drops of water on her head and face. She looked up rather startled into a handsome face with a gentle pair of green eyes. Further investigation revealed a black umbrella held above her and the stranger by his gloved hand. When she'd recovered enough from her shock to speak, another thing hit her. It was the smell of a rose garden but this time washed in rain and the stranger's red hair struck as oddly familiar. If that wasn't enough to confirm it had been the boy from the day before, his spiritual presence sent a shock through her awareness in spite of the fact, she discovered, that he was trying to conceal it.

"Hello, Shizuru told me that I shouldn't offer my umbrella's service to you but I don't think it the best idea for you to catch cold," the red-headed stranger said, his voice matching his eyes in gentle comfort. Something within her told her to get a hold on herself and stop this boy from affecting her so greatly but another piece reacted to him. She was certain she'd only been familiar with him because he had passed by the day before but another sense told her that there was more to it.

She finally found her voice as she said, "She's right. I'd rather not share an umbrella with you, a perfect stranger. Besides," she added tightly, "I've never caught cold by being drenched in the rain."

"Is that so?" he asked, still warmly even though she'd obviously harbored no such warmth toward him. "Well, first my name is Kurama and although you don't know me personally, I've heard about you so we're not perfect strangers and secondly, there is always a first time for everything." He smiled and her senses thrilled at the sight. She shook herself violently, looking away from him and picking up her pace as she caught sight of the Kuwabara residence. He kept pace with her and by the time she reached the door, she had broken into an easy run but he'd kept up with her the whole way.

She wasn't sure how to react and thus kept her eyes away from this Kurama while she waited for Shizuru and Keiko to catch up. She took a place under the eaves, the boy being forced to continue standing in the rain with his umbrella held aloft. "You can leave now," she said rather stubbornly, "Your umbrella's service is no longer needed, desired or not."

"While that may be the case, I'm not planning on leaving. You see, Shizuru invited me to come over and wait for the others to arrive and I've gladly accepted. It's a little cold out here for my tastes," he said, his lips tilted ever-so-slightly the whole time. He paused, the tilt disappearing for a moment before he chuckled lightly.

"What's so funny?" she asked, her eyes narrowing in his direction.

"It would seem that you've reached your temperature limit, as well," Kurama said lightly. She didn't reply seeing as she was indeed shivering. While walking it wasn't so bad, but standing still after being drenched with a cool breeze moving across the way was far from pleasant. He had the sense not to offer any other "service", she noticed. However, seeing as she couldn't find anything witty to say she just trained her eyes on the toes of her boots and stood shivering until Shizuru and Keiko caught up.

Shizuru glanced at May then at Kurama and staying quiet with raised eyebrows, she unlocked the door and led the way inside. They all removed their jackets and, in the small confines of the entryway, May's elbow bumped into Kurama's and she felt his spirit energy more acutely as always when physical contact was made between her and others. However, his was strange and in a way not as _human_. She jerked her elbow away and closer to her sides careful not to touch him again as they piled out of the narrow space and into the living room.

It was warm but May had left over goose bumps from the outside chill that combined with her wet hair and vexation to make her quite uncomfortable. She exclaimed in surprise when a towel was thrown at her head and peaking out of the folds of it saw Shizuru regarding her with her bored expression but there was something else just below the surface. "You'll catch cold if you don't dry your hair, May," she said turning away before the younger cousin could read what was different in Shizuru's expression. She set to work obediently towel drying her hair before she paused and saw Kurama watching her. Keiko had followed Shizuru into the kitchen to get some water bowling and left the two alone.

Pulling the towel down to hide her face, May glowered at the fabric as her cheeks warmed from a blush she wasn't used to wearing. She stood up and moved to retreat to the bathroom and use the hair dryer when her clumsiness decided to surface. It had been sometime before she'd truly tripped over something but this time it was actually a certain someone's legs. "Ack!" she cried, being sent sprawling to the ground over Kurama's leg.

"Oh! Are you alright?" he asked grasping her arm to pull her upright. The towel hung halfway off her head as she felt the same shock she'd felt in the entryway. She felt the blush stampede across her face as he pulled her up and, after she was sure her feet were stable under her, she shrugged off his hand rather roughly.

"I'm fine," she grumbled as she stalked off and escaped into the bathroom, not sparing him a glance. With the door securely closed, May ripped the towel the rest of the way off her head and glared at herself, mainly her cheeks, in the mirror. They were quite a brilliant shade of maroon and she turned the faucet on, splashing her face with warm water. Shutting off the water she looked at her dripping face in the mirror as she heard some laughter out in the living room. She sighed and grabbed the nearest towel, drying off her face and forcing herself to calm down.

This wasn't like her at all, she knew, but it couldn't all be this Kurama guy's doing, could it? She numbly unwound the cord of the hairdryer and plugged it in. Turning it on, she meticulously dried her hair letting herself have all the time she needed to regain her senses. When she walked out of the bathroom, she _would_ have control. It startled her when a knock came on the door to the bathroom. She took one more breath before opening it to see Kazuma standing there.

"Oh, Kazuma. You're home," May said.

"Yeah," he responded being uncharacteristically serious. "So, you ready to get your answers?" he asked gruffly. She could see on his face that he really didn't want to tell her but she also knew his "code" also held him to promises. She nodded and followed him out into the living room where she saw Yusuke had joined the party and was being yelled at by Keiko. It would have been comical if May hadn't had all her thoughts trained onto her questions being answered. She ignored the sidelong look from the red head.

"Alright, you guys, it's time to go," Kazuma said before turning toward his bedroom. May let her question show on her face but no one gave her an explanation as they followed Kazuma into his bedroom. She noticed that Keiko and Shizuru were returning to the kitchen which meant only the three boys would be "going" with her.

"You coming, May?" Yusuke asked looking back at her. Kurama and Kazuma were no where in sight. May walked into Kazuma's bedroom to see his closet door ajar but instead of a regular closet, she saw a long walkway with sheer drops on either side into canyons. At the end of the "road" there was a huge building.

"What's this?" May blurted. Her cousin and the aggravating red head had already begun walking up the path and turned at her question. Yusuke grinned and walking her through the door, which closed promptly after they crossed the threshold, gestured an arm at the totally different space. "Welcome to Spirit World."

* * *

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	4. Spirit World and Demons

**-Spirit World and Demons-**

May walked but kept her steps close to Yusuke in an unconscious show of nervousness. The height bothered her greatly and the narrowness of their walkway simply heightened her awareness of just how unknowable the extent of her fall would be to either side. If he noticed, he didn't say anything but simply continued to guide her toward the building.

When they finally reached the end of the walk, May fell back into her comfort zone as she found that the building actually rested on a plateau of sorts that afforded more of a buffer zone before the edges of the cliff. She pulled slightly away from Yusuke as she caught up with her cousin who was waiting with Kurama beside the huge doors. She looked up and up and up but she couldn't make out where the building ended.

Kurama touched the doors lightly and they swung inward rather dramatically. May caught her breath in awe of the ease the doors opened with but it disappeared quickly when she was met with the scene before her.

There were creatures running this way and that with stacks of papers in their arms. They had anywhere from one horn to at least twelve and they came in a great variety of colors. It gave her an almost instantaneous headache as she watched the commotion and swirl of colors and conglomeration of voices. Kazuma laughed loudly beside her and taking her by the arm, guided her over to a door at the side of the room. After the four passed through the door and shut it, it was silent.

May felt her ears pop and she shook her head before looking up at her cousin. "What were those?" she asked in a strangely calm voice. Kazuma was still laughing and it took her a moment to realize Yusuke had joined him.

"They're ogres," said Kurama walking a little way ahead of the other three. She watched him walk for a moment, his red hair swaying gently like it had the first time she'd seen him. She blinked rapidly before taking a few quick steps to catch up with his long stride.

"Ogres?" she asked allowing herself to look directly at him. He nodded once, his eyes trained on the hall ahead of them. "What are they for?" she asked, her eyes narrowing. He continued to look forward.

"They work for Koenma, the Prince of the Spirit World." She let her gaze turn forward as she thought quietly.

"He must be a fearsome ruler to have all those monsters scrambling like that," May said thinking back to the horns and strange colors. She felt Kurama's spirit energy shift slightly and she glanced over to see a strangely disturbed light in his eyes. "Kurama? Am I right?" she asked looking up at him with a keen gaze.

"No, Koenma is not fearsome. He looks quite human, actually," Kurama said the light in his eyes not changing. May chewed on her bottom lip contemplatively before looking back at their path to see that they were soon coming on an elevator door. She didn't speak again until Kurama pushed the button with the arrow pointing up.

"What's he like then? Don't I get some warning?" she asked looking at the boy. The disturbed light finally disappeared and was replaced by one of quiet humor.

"Just try not to laugh. He really hates that," Kurama said softly as Kazuma and Yusuke caught up to them and the door of the elevator opened. They filed in, May looking a question but not saying anything. Instead she listened to her cousin and his friend banter back and forth. Apparently they were placing bets.

"I bet she goes quiet for a minute before laughing," Yusuke said. So they were betting on her reaction then. She paid close attention to their betting, smiling to herself.

"Naw, knowing her like I do she won't laugh at all but she will smile hugely and poke fun," Kazuma said laughing loudly which made the two non-betters cringe in the small confines of the elevator. Noticing his reaction, May's lips curved slightly looking at the corner to hide her expression.

A "ding" signaled the arrival of the level and the doors slid open to reveal a single blue ogre pushing a cart stacked with papers. The four filed out of the elevator and the ogre took their place, the door sliding smoothly shut behind them. She felt Kurama's gaze upon her as she carefully tucked away her smile. Knowing what was "expected" of her, it was her obligation to disappoint. They'd been walking for some time down a series of corridors and Kazuma and Yusuke had dropped back a bit, snickering to each other about who knows what.

"Could I ask what you plan to do?" Kurama asked, looking at May wryly. The ghost of a smile flitted across her features as she looked up at him. "What if you can't keep from laughing?" he tried again.

"Then I'll either burst immediately or wait two minutes before doing so," she said letting her gaze return to where they were heading. The tall boy hummed slightly, quiet for a moment before opening his mouth to speak again. "And if I get the urge to smile, I simply won't and if there is fun to be poked, I will do it in such a way that Kazuma won't recognize," May said smoothly casting him a sidelong glance to see his mouth had shut but there was a smile there.

"I see," was all he said as they turned one more corner to find a hallway with a single door set at the end. She kept her strides measured as he led the way to the final door. Yusuke and Kazuma ran ahead of them and stood by the door grinning like the Cheshire Cat. Time to shine, May thought as she put on her best deadpan look. Kurama sighed and shook his head at their expressions and opened the door gesturing for May to walk in.

She caught his eyes briefly before walking through the door and felt him follow behind her, her cousin and the punk following close behind. There was a big mahogany desk at which sat a huge overstuffed chair that was turned away from them. May walked all the way up to stand in front of the desk and stood politely, Kurama drifting to her side while Yusuke and Kazuma stood at the end of the desk with grinning faces. To see my reaction all the better no doubt, May thought keeping her face blank as the chair began to turn.

"Greetings," said an overly-suave voice. May's eyebrow lifted of its own accord but the rest of her face was clear. The chair finished rotating and both of her eyebrows went up gently. A boy that looked not much older than she sat in the chair with soft brown hair and eyes. The letters Jr. were printed on his forehead and she took a wild stab in the dark.

"Koenma, isn't it?" she said, her eyebrows returning to normal as she looked over at Yusuke and her cousin to see their looks of disbelief. She shot a quick glance in Kurama's direction to see he had a small smile on his face.

"Lord Koenma, actually. I am the ruler of Spirit World, Kuwabara May. It's nice to finally meet you in person," the boy said and May tried to decide what the boys had expected her to laugh at. She realized belatedly that the blue thing protruding from his mouth was a binky and although she found it odd, she didn't have any desire to laugh about it or poke fun at it.

"Koenma!" exclaimed Yusuke. "You're never in that form in your office!" Kazuma agreed loudly.

"Well, Yusuke, excuse me for gaining the ability to stay in this form at all times while you're out fighting for me," Koenma said obviously miffed. May was completely confused by then and Kurama had mercy on her.

"Until very recently apparently, Koenma has always been in the form of a child still in diapers whenever we were summoned to his office," Kurama said, having leaned over to say it in a whisper. Her confusion disappeared as she imagined this "ruler" as a baby. Indeed, it made her snicker to think a baby would rule this place called Spirit World. Kurama hummed, catching her reaction.

"Anyway, my form is of little consequence. I believe you said May here wants her questions answered," Koenma said, turning his gaze back on May. "I assume you haven't any idea about what Spirit World is?"

"That's right," May said with a slight nod. Koenma nodded too, thinking. After a pause, he snapped his fingers and a sofa appeared behind May and Kurama that was long enough to seat three comfortably. Kazuma and Yusuke sat down first and her cousin pulled May to sit in between them as Kurama perched himself on the arm rest without a second thought.

"Well, May, first there are three worlds you'll come to realize," Koenma began, walking around his desk to sit on the front of it. He crossed his legs lacing his fingers over his knee. "There is the Human World which you've always lived on, the Spirit World where you are now, and the Makai or in other words, Demon World where Kurama originates from," he said matter-of-factly. Her jaw dropped just slightly at the end of the sentence, the only sign that she had been shocked. She resisted the urge to look at Kurama. How could someone so normal looking be from a world of demons? Perhaps he was hiding his true form and he was really a hideous monster! She cringed mentally from the words that formed from her thoughts. Monster. Was this why he had looked so disturbed by her question earlier?

She didn't have long to ponder before Koenma continued. "So the Spirit World is where people come when they die, you see. I'm here to oversee the placement of people when they die or send them back when they die unexpectedly," he said with a pointed look at Yusuke on her right. She looked at him and he was grinning from ear to ear. Before she could ask, the ruler's voice wandered on. "Now the Makai is just like I described. It's much like the Human World but run by demons but I have to keep an eye on their activities because of their love of causing problems for the Human World and their seemingly innate desire to take over and rule the humans." Her concern must have shown in her expression for he waved a hand in a sort of placating gesture. "You needn't worry, May. I have put together a special team whose job is to keep the Makai in check in regards to the Human and Spirit Worlds."

"Team?" she managed to choke out and she felt vibrations in the couch. She looked at Kazuma then Yusuke who were seemingly trying to hold in their laughter. "Why is this funny?" she asked, her tone becoming dangerous as she locked her eyes on Kazuma. Realizing she was glaring at him, Kazuma sobered up from laughter to caution.

"Now, May, don't get angry. We're just laughing because Koenma is making it sound like the team is a bunch of trained ninjas or something, when really the team members are referred to as Spirit Detectives." His goofy grin had returned as he was pointing at his chest. Turning her gaze on Yusuke he was nodding with the same goofy grin as he pointed to himself as well.

"You two are the Spirit Detectives?" May asked some of her disbelief coloring her voice.

"Now coz, don't be so selfish as to give all the credit to just Urameshi and I. Kurama is part of the team, too, plus this pint-sized guy who thinks he's all that and a bag—" Kazuma was cut off by the sound of metal ringing. Looking behind the couch, a man dressed in black was holding a katana, his eyes dangerous. "Oh, hey Hiei!" Kazuma said with a quaking laugh. "Didn't see you there, you know? Being all stealth-like."

"Hiei, put the sword away. You already knew this was Kuwabara's opinion of you," Kurama said calmly. May's eyes stayed on the spiky-haired boy until he put away the sword with a soft grunt of disdain. He then looked directly at her, his eyes a startling crimson color. She pulled her eyes away and saw Kurama watching her and she pursed her lips together before turning around the rest of the way and looking at Koenma. She hadn't sensed Hiei's presence. But then, she thought, maybe that's because he was already in here when we arrived or he's been with us since we entered the building. A small chill ran down her back as she thought about it.

"And there you have it, my Spirit Detectives," Koenma said rather anticlimactically. "But yes, as I was saying. This team takes care of keeping the demons in line and it helps to have two demons on the team, but that's beside the point." Kurama and Hiei must be the demons, May thought to herself as Koenma continued. "Currently, I have them assigned to a case in the human world that is based around Tokyo. You may have read about it in the papers, May. There is someone going around and killing humans. The human police don't recognize the cause of death because none of their tools detect the spirit energy of a person. You see, without the energy that the spirit creates, the rest of the processes in the human body cease functioning. So far we can't pinpoint why the human is chosen but we are running on a hunch that those with heightened spirit awareness and higher levels of energy, of course, are prime targets for this demon."

Misao, May thought. Had she fit the criteria then? Was she sensitive to the different readings that a person's spirit energy gave off just as she was? May's hands were folded in her lap, her knuckles turning white from the pressure she was exerting. May thought back to the past few months and how her awareness had been building, her crazy dreams that she couldn't quite remember the mornings after although she was positive they'd been vivid.

"May?" Kazuma prodded quietly, his hand on her shoulder. Her choice was clear. Misao's smiling face flashed once more across her memory, the names of the other victims scrolling through her mind. She looked up at Koenma, fire in her eyes.

"I want to help."

"Little brother, you've got to be kidding me! We agreed that May should be aware of her potential danger not that she should join in the fray and be a sure-fire target," Shizuru scolded Kazuma.

"Calm down, sis! Koenma said he would think about it!" Kazuma said in his defense. May was sitting on the windowsill and glaring out at the cloud covered sky. It had yet to start raining which put her in an even fouler mood.

'Thank you for the offer,' the prince had said, 'but I think it would be best to watch the situation for a little while before we jump too hastily into things.' The way Kazuma referred to it was an overstatement. She had tried to tell Koenma how much she wanted, needed to help them but he simply shook his head and with a wave of his hand dismissed her.

They'd left Kurama and the mysterious Hiei behind because the prince had requested to speak with them. Kurama had looked apologetic but she had a feeling that he agreed with Koenma and it made her mad (because she would never let such a thing like it to hurt her).

"Yeah, Shizuru. Binky-breath will probably keep her out the action all together. No need to get worked up," Yusuke said with a laugh. May heard a slap followed closely by Keiko telling Yusuke that it was a serious matter and he shouldn't laugh at Shizuru's concern for her younger cousin. May's fingers curled into a fist against her leg as they continued to talk about her as if she weren't there.

"Kazuma, you said you were taking her there to clear things up for her. Not to make her interested in working for the idiot. And that idiot shouldn't have said anything more than what it took to let her know what the Spirit World was and his role in it!" May couldn't take it any longer and stood up violently from the windowsill and stalked to the front door and, not even bothering to grab her coat, walked out and slammed the door behind her on the cries of her cousins to come back inside.

She shoved her hands in her pockets kicking a pebble out of her way on the sidewalk. 'I'm not a child anymore,' she thought heatedly. 'I don't need Shizuru to look out for me and my decisions. My aunt understood that now why can't she?' May ran a hand through her hair pulling some of it over her shoulder as she looked around to find her steps had taken her to the playground a few blocks away from her cousins' home.

She let out a long breath, feeling her anger boil down to a simmer just below the surface. The park was empty and so she walked through the gate, closing it behind her with a careful hand, concentrating on controlling her anger. She remembered coming to this park often when she'd been younger. She smiled grimly remembering the times she would come alone were usually the times she was upset. 'I'm a creature of habit, I guess,' she thought to herself as she walked lazily to the swings and picking the one in the middle sat down slowly on it.

She just sat for a few minutes, looking at her booted feet in the pebbles that covered the ground beneath the swings. Her lips pressed together for a moment before she picked up a nice sized pebble and, clutching it in her hand, began to swing back and forth, pumping her legs in a defined motion. She breathed according to the motion, her curls floating gently in the air currents as she paid close attention to the smell of the air, the feel of it against her cheeks and arms, and the tang of rain and lightning. The storm was coming on she could feel it as surely as she felt the beating of her heart.

As her swing came to the climax of the movement she weighed the pebble in her hand and looked at the plastic play structures. She'd just missed them the last time she'd gone through these motions and threw the stone at them. 'Today's my day,' she thought taking a small bit of comfort from the idea. She scooted to the edge of the swing and pumping her legs one more time slipped out of it in an arcing jump into the air. She threw the pebble with all her strength, concentrating all the anger and stress she'd been holding the last few days into the effort. She watched as time seemed to slow, her body finally moving on the downward end, the pebble shooting straight for the play place. Lightning struck at the exact moment it made contact with the plastic and disappeared.

Landing on her feet, May stumbled forward a little and looked in the direction her pebble had gone in disbelief. A couple seconds later the thunder sounded, seeming to propel her forward stumbling a little before she picked up her pace and jogged over to the play structure, her eyes staying locked on the spot her pebble had disappeared. She examined it and gave a short bark of laughter. There was a perfect circle in the heavy plastic. Laughing a little more, May scrambled around to climb up the ladder and crawled into the tube. After a couple feet, the inside of the structure glowed from the light of another strike and she felt the rumble of thunder through her hands and knees, her pebble rattling along the base of the tube.

She picked it up and sat upright in the tube, weighing the small pebble in her palm. It was unchanged as far as she could tell and she looked to see the hole she'd examined from the outside. Closing one eye, she leaned forward and looked out of the hole. It was perfect and she could see straight to the swings. Lightning struck again and lit the inside of the tube again, the thunder shaking it gently. She shook her head awestruck at the feat she'd just accomplished. But how had she done it?

She crawled out of the tube and stood up, brushing her pants off. "May?" She turned around quickly and found a familiar red head standing at the gate of the park. In a snap she remembered what had driven her to the park and she felt a shadow of the anger that had eaten at her before she'd shot the pebble. She crossed her arms and putting them on top of the tube leaned against them.

"Kurama," she responded just loud enough for him to hear her. Another flash of lightning was followed by thunder as he opened the gate and entered. She felt her body tense up as he walked around the play structure to her right side and stood there looking up at her. She turned slightly watching him, waiting for him to speak.

He cleared his throat, looking around the park. "Shizuru said I might find you here. She told me I should probably let you come back on your own…" he trailed off, a small smile tilting his lips. She remembered their encounter the day before and let her lips curve slightly.

"But you didn't think it a good idea," she finished for him. He shook his head before looking up at her. "I haven't caught a cold yet," May said but without the scorn from the day before. He gave a quiet laugh through his nose as he let his eyes wander over the park again.

"So, why a park?" he asked conversationally, letting his gaze rest on her face again. She looked around at the place and shrugged.

"I always came here as a kid, I guess. And it has swings," she said with a small smile. He returned it as she hopped off the play structure and walked back over to the swings. Another strike of lightning. Another rumble of thunder. She took her usual seat in the middle and used her legs to push against the ground not really swinging. May heard the crunch of gravel as he walked to the swing set. He leaned easily against one of the posts with a sigh.

They were both quiet for a time. May took to biting her lower lip as she glanced occasionally at the boy to see him gazing around the park. He was strangely aware of the surroundings as if on the look out for something. She dropped the thought not liking the train it was fueling but took a side path. "A demon, huh?" she prompted, her eyes on the ground as she traced lines in the pebbles with the toe of her boot.

He let out a breath and straightened for a moment before sinking to sit at the base of the pole. "I was wondering if you'd ask," he said calmly. Although he looked relaxed, she could feel the wary tension in him. Lightning. Thunder. She looked up at him and saw he had a faraway look in his eyes.

"You don't look like a demon," she said quietly. He looked at her seemingly pulled back to reality.

"Some of us look very much like humans, you must understand. But I will admit my case is abnormal even by demon standards," he said, measuring his words. He was quiet for a moment and May slipped in the question, "What are you supposed to look like?" His eyes met hers and, pursing his lips briefly, he sighed. "I'll tell you my story."

* * *

_Alright! So this one is extra long because I just didn't know where to cut it off and have it flow smoothly still. Anyway- I hope you enjoyed it!_

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	5. Human Emotions and Demon Poison

**-Human Emotions and Demon Poison-**

Kurama was quiet again and, feeling impatient, she almost prodded him again when his eyes took on that far off look again.

"A little under 25 years ago, I'd never set foot on this world of humans. I was what you would call a fox apparition. The form I was in the majority of the time was of that animal but with silver fur instead of the usual red and white that you see here on Earth. My name as the Makai knew it was Yoko.

"Having become bored with my life as a demon, I spent most of my time learning the arts of breaking codes and locks and became a skilled thief. Of course I never went after the small stuff and each time I went out, I became bolder from my success and kept going after bigger and grander prizes. One of these thieving nights would be my last in that form. I had, to coin the expression, bit off more than I could chew and the owner of my recent goal came after me. I couldn't resist his strength and so, at the end before he killed me off completely, my spirit escaped into the Human World.

"I found a human woman who was with child. Her name was Minamino Shiori. I slipped into the body of the child she was bearing," Kurama continued as what seemed like a memory flashed through May's mind. A pregnant woman… a shining light of gold… a child… She closed her eyes tightly for a moment before shaking herself mentally, returning her attention to Kurama's words. "I had planned to rest there in the child, to bide my time you see before I could take over the body and leave the family. It took me twelve years of being trapped inside this human body which the woman had name Shuichi to build up enough strength to feel confident that if I were to leave, I would be fine. But something happened that I didn't expect." His gaze became soft and May looked at him with a furrowed brow. This man had been a demon and still was a demon at the core but there was something undeniably human about him.

"I loved the woman, began to care for her as if she were actually my mother. And so, I couldn't just abandon her. She's so much frailer than I, her well being is a constant worry to me while I'm away and it kills me to lie to her but I can't let her know about this life, about the true me," Kurama said, his voice growing more distant, more reserved. He was sad.

May felt as though her world rocked beneath her. A demon, someone she'd counted immediately as a heartless monster, had the emotions of a human. She bit her lip and looked up at the sky. Another flash of lightning. Another roll of thunder. The clouds broke and the rain tumbled down to the earth.

The two sat there in the rain for a few minutes thinking their separate thoughts. May watched Kurama clandestinely wondering how a demon thief could change his whole life in just few years bound to the Human World. One thing was for certain, there was more to this boy than met the eye. The hair across his forehead hung wetly in his eyes, his head tilted down and his shoulders and knees were becoming drenched, the pinkish material turning a deep red. It occurred to her that he hadn't brought a jacket with him either.

She remained seated on the swing however, her curls straightening out from the weight of the precipitation. Her blouse began to cling to her uncomfortably as a chill wind blew across the park and straight through her. She shivered slightly before standing up and walking over to the demon boy. "Come on, we should get going before Shizuru calls up the search parties," May said, a quiet humor coloring her tone. Kurama lifted his gaze to hers and her heart stuttered strangely. His eyes seemed more green in the dim light and lit strangely as another bolt of lightening arced across the sky.

She looked away holding her hand out to help him up, using the cold rain and wind on her cheeks as an excuse for their sudden redness. Her other hand was on her hip, giving her a stance of tolerance for this seemingly depressed mood that had been called upon them. May let her gaze fall back to him and she found him smiling in a peculiar expression of relief.

She almost asked why when suddenly his expression changed from friendly to dangerous. She retracted her hand from him as he exclaimed, "Watch out!" With inhuman speed and agility, Kurama shot from the ground, pushing May back and into the pebbled ground. She yelled out in surprise and grunted in pain as first her elbow then her back then her head made impact with the ground. She felt slightly dazed for a moment when she finally felt it. An aura of something alien. Or demon, a voice chimed in her head as she heard cruel laughter floating on the wind. Kurama pushed up from her and looked around alertly.

"You're in the way, my pet," the voice sounded again. It was distinctly feminine and suddenly there was a body for the voice not five feet to May's right. Her eyes traveled from the feet up, taking in the long legs clothed in black leather boots up to the black dress and long blonde hair. The face looked human enough but there was something animalistic in her golden eyes. Kurama kept his eyes on the woman as he pulled May up with him.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice cold and dangerous. May looked up at him and saw the ruthless light in his eyes that she had expected of a demon. She couldn't speak, her breath was caught in her throat and she felt very much afraid.

"Fine, alright, I'll just have to have dinner and dessert close together," the woman laughed before she moved, running straight at them. Kurama pushed May out of the way and faced the woman, ready to fight. The force of his push sent May back to the ground and she scrambled back, hitting a tree. Her hands grasped the tough bark and she used it to stand.

After the initial contact, the woman had jumped back and now both she and Kurama were down in a fighting stance. "You're no normal human," the woman said, pouting slightly at Kurama.

"You're right," Kurama said in his dangerously calm voice. He stood up straighter and reached a hand into his red hair. May watched incredulous as he pulled a red rose from his hair and held it in front of him, like a sword in the on-guard position. The woman blinked then laughed aloud.

"And just who do you think you are, my pet? The notorious Kurama that works for the brat of the Spirit World?" she asked clearly not thinking that it could be true. May looked at the woman then back at Kurama. She knew he was Kurama and that he worked for Koenma but notorious? She felt the confusion work its way through her fear and settle on her expression.

"Why yes, that's exactly who I think I am," he said with a smile, the rose began to glow and May gasped. She could see his spirit energy… as though it were a tangible thing… "Rose Whip!" he called and the rose changed into a weapon in the blink of an eye and rose-petals suddenly mixed in with the rain. "And you, you're the one whose been running around and murdering the humans here, aren't you?" he countered. The woman took a step back suddenly unsure of herself.

"How… how did you know that!?" she asked. Kurama laughed shortly, "A hunch." He snapped his whip in the demoness' direction but she leaped out of the way, in May's direction.

Before May could take a breath, the woman had caught hold of her arm and pulled her against her chest, her hand at her throat. May tried to fight her way away but the blonde's grip on her tightened painfully and she cried out in pain. The woman had one arm around May's chest, gripping her upper arm, her other hand at her throat her nails like a knife. May looked at Kurama and saw that he stood frozen not using his whip at all.

"Kurama," May said quietly at first but then her voice got stronger as she remembered all the names she'd read over the last few months of the people who had all died mysterious deaths. "Kill her Kurama and forget me!" The woman pierced her arm with her nails and pulled her violently closer, a scream tearing from May's lips. She felt the blood trickle down her cold arm, mixing with the insistent rain. Kurama stayed where he was but his teeth were set in anger. The woman, gaining her confidence back, cackled.

"That's right, don't hurt the human. You really are Koenma's slave aren't you? Down to all of your pathetic human emotions." May's shivering was created by cold, pain and anger.

"They aren't pathetic," she growled lowly.

"I beg to differ, child," the woman said tartly. "When you let your feelings for others get in the way, you lose. You pathetic humans and your thoughts on love and friendship and loyalty. Ha! You make me sick," the woman scoffed digging her claws deeper into May's arm causing her to cry out again. Through the pain May tried to estimate how much taller the woman was than she and found her to be a good two heads taller. "Now, Kurama, kneel before me and I will kill you quickly and perhaps I'll give the girl a gentler death," the woman demanded.

May caught Kurama's eyes and mouthed, "Her head. Cut off her head," then she braced herself against the woman, the claws in her arm and held her head as far away from the nails of her hand as possible without giving herself away.

"I'm sorry," Kurama said, regaining his calm, "but I simply can't do that." The woman began to retort when May heard the movement of the whip. The demon sunk her nails deeper into May's arm but gritting her teeth, May shot her free hand up to bat away the danger at her throat. May heard the whip with its thorns make contact with flesh as the nails of the demon scratched against her cheek, her claws constricting in May's arm one more time before going slack.

The demon toppled over backward, pulling May with her, the demon's blood splashing onto her hair and arms. She lay there on top of the dead creature, disgusted but in too much shock and pain to move. "May," Kurama said as he knelt beside her and the dead creature. He braced his hand against her arm counting to three before ripping the demon fingers from her arm. The pain washed over her and she felt dizzy, the image of Kurama swimming in and out of her focus.

"Kurama," came a calm voice from somewhere behind her. "I got here as fast as I could."

"Ah, Hiei. Take care of the murderess, would you? I need to get May back to Kuwabara's." There was a soft, "Hn," that came from Hiei's direction as Kurama pulled May up into his arms. "Don't go out on me, May, you need to hold on to consciousness for a little bit longer," he encouraged, his voice was back to normal and May was vaguely aware that her bleeding arm was pressed against his chest, her bleeding cheek on his shoulder.

She opened her eyes wider, concentrating on Kurama's face. She felt the ground moving beneath them but couldn't tell if it was fast or slow. He was actually quite handsome, she noticed but then felt the world lurch to a stop and she could only concentrate on keeping her eyes open.

It was suddenly very bright cuing May into the fact that they were inside the Kuwabara home. The voices were loud and she felt as though her head was going to split open.

"The demon we've been tracking the last few days really did target her, I'm afraid. I'm going to need help, Yusuke. Call Botan or Genkai, whichever can get here the quickest. I'll start drawing out the poison," Kurama explained before turning to May who he'd laid on the couch. She was burning up but he knew it had nothing to do with a rain-induced fever. Yusuke whipped out the compact to the Spirit World and caught hold of Botan.

Kurama's hands hovered over the punctures on May's arm and the shallow cuts on her cheek. His spirit energy glowed softly as he started taking the poison into himself. He'd be able to withstand it, he was sure, but for an untrained human body, the poison was deadly. "Stay awake," he reminded her softly. If her body had been trained then her unconscious self would be fine but he knew if she slept it would be for forever, regardless of whether he extracted all the poison or not.

Yusuke returned to Kurama's side with a cautious smile. "Botan's on her way. She hasn't used her power for a few days so it's been storing. It should be enough." Kurama nodded, the exertion straining enough without him speaking where a nod would do. Shizuru had left the room at Keiko's insistence for she had pulled out a cigarette and puffed on it madly. Kuwabara stayed in the room but kept his distance, worry etched on his features. Yusuke stood beside the couch watching over Kurama's work and having caught on to the fact that May had to stay awake he kept a hand on her shin, shaking it and encouraging consciousness whenever she seemed to stray too close to the edge.

Botan arrived about ten minutes after Yusuke had contacted her looking frazzled. "I'm here," she panted in her accented voice as she moved to Kurama's side. Kurama began to speak, the sweat beading on his brow when a rush of air passed him and stopped at the head of the couch. Hiei, Kurama said mentally, his gratitude washing through his thoughts to Hiei as he communicated what he needed Botan to do.

"Kurama says he almost has all the poison drawn from her blood. Once the glow of his spirit energy fades you must be ready to take up the position. He would have you transfer energy through him but he fears during the healing process some of the poison might slip back in… it seems to have a mind of its own and doesn't like to be pulled from its host which is the girl in this case," Hiei relayed.

"Right," Botan nodded as her hands started to glow lightly.

"He says the healing should take just a minute or so but needs to happen immediately in the case he can't contain the poison. It's more of a precaution than anything, he says, but once you see the openings have sealed you can stop and her body should take care of the rest."

"Let me guess, she gets physical battle scars while Kurama takes on the internal ones," Yusuke said without humor.

Hiei sighed, "He says yes she will carry the scars but his won't be so dramatic. He should be fine by tomorrow evening." Botan looked at the group and her eyes resting on Kurama and May she sighed and shook her head.

"The two of them might escape death but I can feel the traces of a common cold already taking hold. Looks like they won't be going anywhere tomorrow," she said with her endless enthusiasm which reappeared after she'd been reassured that the two of them should be fine.

Kurama's spirit energy faded from physical sight and Botan easily stepped into place as Yusuke helped Kurama move to a chair across the room. Kurama's breathing was slightly labored but he kept a calm front as he watched Botan at work. The Grim Reaper as they knew her was smiling as she healed May and once the openings had sealed, she wiped her brow and closed May's eyes for her. "You did well, my dear. Now sleep and recover," Botan said before standing up and walking over to Kurama who had regained some strength already.

"Thank you, Botan," he said quietly. She nodded but looked suddenly very authoritative.

"You need to sleep, Kurama! Don't let me catch you awake in the next ten minutes. Now, I need to go let Shizuru and Keiko know May will be alright. Shizuru was doing so well at not smoking… hah well, I guess she can always start over again," Botan said before leaving the four boys and the sleeping May alone. Kuwabara was already sitting on the floor beside the couch, watching his cousin sleep. One look at him and anyone could tell he was not to be moved from that spot. Yusuke chuckled and took a seat in a chair close to Kurama.

"You're such a gallant knight, Kurama. You'll be beating her off with a stick when she wakes up if she's anything like Kuwabara," Yusuke said grinning.

"Something tells me that girl is the happy medium between Kuwabara and his sister. She's tough but softer than she is given credit for," Hiei said causing Yusuke and Kurama to look at him in surprise.

"Wow, Hiei, you sound almost admiring," Yusuke said with a shocked face but it soon turned into a sly smile, "you haven't been reading her mind in your spare time, have you?" The spiky-haired demon glowered at Yusuke. "No, baka. Anyone can tell that just by paying attention."

"But Hiei," interjected Kurama, "you've never spent time in her company aside from that short instance in Koenma's office and right now when she's out like a light." Hiei was silent which confirmed Kurama's suspicions. He'd taken the task Koenma had assigned them quite literally but carried it out from a distance much like he watched over his sister, Yukina the ice apparition. An interesting development of curiosity in my opinion, Kurama thought tiredly as he slipped into unconsciousness, letting his body take over the combat of the poison.

* * *

_Casidhe here!_

_So it has been a little while since my last post and I suppose you could blame it on my greediness and vanity for wanting more reviews, etc, before posting the next installment._

_A note before I put my shout-outs up, I was asked why Kurama didn't introduce himself as Shuichi and honestly, I had to go back and make sure of when they (May and Kurama) were introduced properly. Giving it some thought before I found the evidence however, I suppose my reasoning at the time (it's been almost a year since I started writing this although I only started posting it three or so months ago) was that May was going to learn the truth of Kurama's name soon anyway so why start out with Shuichi and make it even more confusing? Plus, if you haven't noticed, May doesn't exactly have a lot of other human friends who don't know Kurama that she would tell about his double identity. _

_But oh well, I simply found it to be much simpler this way but for the sake of those who must have the name Shuichi mentioned (insert mock long-suffering sigh here) I threw it in to the beginning of this chapter where Kurama is telling his story. Yep. That is about it. Moving on._

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	6. To Be Normal

**-To Be Normal...-**

May awoke to the sound of rain pattering against the window and the scene she was greeted with surprised her. Kazuma was at the foot of the couch, his hand on her shin with his head pillowed on his arm. She saw Yusuke and Kurama in the chairs on the other side of the room and it looked as though Hiei slept on the windowsill. Her eyes lighted on Kurama again as the events of the night before came back fuzzily to her. Her attention snapped to her arm and she saw four moon shaped scars along it. She traced them with a finger, the lingering memory of the pain the nails caused banging dully at her senses.

Her gaze traveled blankly to the blanket that had been draped over her sometime during the night. She remembered the poison and she shivered at the realization that if Kurama hadn't used his demon powers… she would be meeting Koenma again, but dead. She lay back down, watching the clouds move but become no less black than seconds before. The rain pounded more heavily on the window but the lightning and thunder had ceased for the time being.

She tried to drift back to sleep but she was oddly aware of everything, all the noises. Bored, May decided to try and pinpoint sounds and where they came from. She singled out a clock on the wall and glancing at it she took note that it wasn't even 6 AM. She turned her senses to Kazuma's breathing it being the easiest because of proximity. He snored ever-so-slightly but it was the noise of a content sleep. Yusuke's came after and she looked at him in the dimly lit room. His lips were parted slightly, the breath creating a small vacuum when he breathed in and sounding like a sigh when he exhaled. His hair wasn't slicked back anymore which gave him a gentler appearance.

Her eyes drifted to Kurama who breathed the sleep of one with a cold. His breath was full-throated, his nose being too congested to breathe through. She shook her head with a small smile at the irony. Leaning her head back and to the right she could make out Hiei's silhouette on the windowsill and she had to cut out all sound but what came from his direction. She was amazed when she heard almost nothing. His breath was soft as the beating of wings and it made her wonder if all of him was that quiet. She relaxed her neck muscles, the sounds melting back into existence and she thought about the exercise. Her senses were heightened even more than they had been over the last few weeks and the precision with which she was able to direct them was astounding to her. Another test, she thought lightly.

May let herself be aware of the spirit energies of the four boys and felt her attention snap strangely to the fact that she could sense more than just the four but also three other energies that lay in another room. The discovery of the three energies was smothered quickly however as the four within the room volleyed for her attention. Not only could she feel them as acutely as she would when in physical contact but she could see them. An orange cast lay over her cousin while a blue one emitted almost whitely against Yusuke's skin. Kurama shone a deep red and Hiei's glowed purple so deep it looked black at certain shifts. What was happening?

May carefully slipped her leg from Kazuma's grasp and got up from the couch. Watching the four sleepers and their auras, she walked silently out of the room and to the front door. She felt the presence of three girls to her right as she opened the door and walked out into the rain.

In the dim light of morning, she could just make out the splotches of blood on her clothing and she crinkled her nose in disgust. The demon woman had bled profusely after Kurama had decapitated her. She looked through the ground as she thought of the danger she had been in, the danger Kurama had put himself in for her. The rain began to seep through her clothing, running in rivulets down her arms and through her hair. She shook her head as she tilted her face up into the rain wishing to wash away the memory. Taking a deep breath, May opened her eyes and moved under the eaves, sitting on the doorstep not ready to go back into the confines of the house.

After a while, she noticed the colors emanating from the plant life and even the rain seemed to shine more brightly. So these things had spirit energy too. She held out her hand to catch some rain in her palm and, bringing it back, studied the energy shining silver. Despite the shivering of her hand, the water was completely still without a vibration or ripple and she looked down at it, her pale face and forget-me-not blue eyes reflecting up at her. It was very much like looking into a mirror. She let out a breath of surprise at the stillness and her breath stirred the water. The silver light turned slowly to copper and then to a bloody red. She cried out, flinging the water away from her. It fell onto the sidewalk harmlessly and, looking frighteningly and sickeningly like blood, was washed away by the downpour.

She curled and uncurled her fingers, her eyes fixed on the spot she'd thrown the rain turned mirror then blood. Something big was happening. Every fiber of her being cried out for light and understanding but she wasn't sure if she was brave enough to ask.

"Kuwabara May?" May looked up from the piano she had seated herself at to see a wiry old man with a fluffy mustache but no hair on top of his head.

"Hai," she answered standing up and bowing.

"I am Yamamoto Wei and I will be your instructor this semester," the man said in a rather strict tone. May bobbed her head again and at his indication, sat back down on the piano bench and began to do warm-ups according to his instruction.

It had been a month since the night Kurama had saved her from the murderess, a month since she'd learned about the Spirit World and Koenma, a month since the woman's poison altered Kuwabara May and her genetic makeup. Although she hadn't changed immediately, she noticed the blue of her eyes had become deeper, her skin more translucent and her attempts at dyeing any part of her hair had become futile. It had even grown impossibly fast to reach her waist. May hadn't visited her cousins since and thus hadn't had to explain to anybody the changes that occurred to her.

The discovery of the outside elements reaction to her and her heightened awareness of the spirit energy that ran through the world had caused her to spend more time to herself in nature, trying to figure out how to control the "powers". She'd succeeded in pushing the awareness of the visual manifestations of the energy to the back burners of her mind but she could still feel the heart beats and pulsing of living things for approximately an hundred yard radius. She didn't dare go out while it was raining and had even resorted to showering with her eyes closed. She wasn't sure if others saw the consequences of her and water colliding but she decided it was best not to chance it. She did, however, learn that the water didn't really turn to blood so as long as she didn't see it, she felt clean when she bathed.

"Hey! Pay attention! You're playing sloppily," Yamamoto scolded and May pulled herself back to the present, apologizing and starting the sonata from the top. 'A flat, B flat…' she thought as she played, hitting every note as precisely as she could being told to sight-read a piece she'd never heard of.

"Hai, hai. Good. Now take it home and study, Mayku," Yamamoto said before picking up his briefcase and leaving the piano room. After he left, May let out a sigh and wondered how he had picked up on the nickname her dorm mates had given her. She'd insisted they call her May but most wanted to call her by her surname. When someone had pointed out it sounded too male for a small girl like May, someone had suggested combining it and thus "Mayku". She disliked it but tolerated it. She had more pressing things on her mind, like trying to be normal when she knew she no longer was.

Putting the piano piece in her bag, May got up from the piano and walked out of building 2-M.

Draping her bag over her shoulder, she shoved her other hand in the pocket of her skirt. The weather was getting colder, heading into the fall and she wore a heavy sweater over the blouse she'd worn. The wind was picking up but there wasn't a cloud in the sky. 'No insulation,' May thought blandly.

The clock tower in the middle of campus struck four o'clock and gave her a start. "Aw crap! I'm going to be late for work!" May exclaimed breaking into a mad dash across campus. With the new powers, she hadn't received any more grace and thus smashed directly into the chest of another student. "Ah!" she exclaimed almost falling but pulling her senses together and moving her feet under her. She looked up to apologize to the person she'd run into and saw it was the RA of her building, Makoto Ishi. "Senpai," she said as he looked down at her with his dark almost black eyes. His hair was oddly white even though she knew he wasn't too much older than her. He looked at her emotionlessly; he wasn't even angered by her mindlessly running into him. "Sorry, senpai," she stuttered bobbing her head and dashing around him heading for the bakery.

She pushed the door open to the Dragon Bakery, breathing heavily and saw her employer, Sai, standing there as if waiting. 'Ah, dang…' May thought pulling herself together enough to bow. "Sorry, sir! I promise it won't happen again!"

"You bet it won't happen again. You're fired, May! I can't stand a tardy employee," Sai said, waving his hand as if he smelled something bad. He turned to walk back behind the counter as May grabbed hold of his sleeve.

"No! Please, Sai-sama. I really need this job," she pled. This was the fourth job in a month and it was driving her insane that she couldn't keep one.

"Then you should have thought about that before you were late for the fifth time," he growled ripping his sleeve out of her grasp and, grabbing a fly swatter brandished it at her. "Now get out unless you plan on buying something from me!"

May stumbled back, running into a cabinet on top of which sat a vase. Time slowed as it began to tumble to the ground. Sai's scream didn't even register as May spun around and nabbed it an inch from the ground where it would have shattered. Time resumed its normal pace as she staggered in the direction she'd spun and threw out her free hand to brace against the wall. Looking back at the owner of the bakery, she saw Sai on the verge of bursting a blood vessel and so she gently put the vase where it belonged and sketching a hasty bow high-tailed it out of the building.

She ran for a couple of blocks before coming to a stop at a crosswalk where she leaned against a building gasping for breath. Her heart was racing faster than she was sure was healthy and she let the wind rush across her face, tossing her hair and skirt for a bit. Taking one last breath to steady herself she stood back up and took the chance to cross the road with the rest of the pedestrians.

'Crap, being fired four times in one month… no one will want to hire me with this track record,' May vented mentally as she grasped her bag tightly by the strap with both hands. 'And without a job, I won't be able to pay for my tuition or housing.' Subconsciously, her steps led her back to the academy and looking at the building she let out a sigh. 'Might as well take advantage of it one more time before they kick me out,' she reasoned as she let her gaze travel up to the sky where a small group of clouds scudded across the azure sky. She continued to walk that way, wondering if rain wasn't too far away when she ran into someone. Whoever it was steadied her easily as she apologized. Looking at the person's chest, she saw the RA insignia on the jacket and she looked up into the face of Ishi. She took a couple quick steps back as he watched her.

"Hm… that's twice in one day within an hour, Kuwabara May. And, might I further point out, the fifth time this week that we've met with you either running blindly or watching the sky as you walked?" he said quietly, calmly.

May scratched the back of her head with a sheepish smile. "Yeah, I'm sorry. Really, I just have other things on my mind is all…" she said, her voice fading toward the end as she looked up to see him with the same emotionless expression that he always regarded her with. Ishi had a fan club running around the academy, that much May had realized, but she couldn't see the draw of someone who wore no expression. He hummed quietly, his eyes looking at her unblinking.

"Kuwabara May, I've been meaning to ask you something of a, possibly, personal nature," he said in the same quiet voice. May's eyebrows rose slightly and she nodded curious as to what the RA would have to ask her. "Is that how you got these, by running into something?" he asked, touching the scars on her cheek lightly. She took a step back, startled by the fluidity of his motions and touched her cheek herself. The demon murderess' nail marks… but of course she couldn't, or perhaps wouldn't, tell anyone from the Human World about such an encounter. 'The encounter that made it impossible for me to ever be normal again,' she thought somberly.

"Kuwabara-san?" Ishi prompted snapping May back to the present moment.

"Uh, no. I mean no Makoto-senpai, it has nothing to do with my habit of running into people," she said but thought, 'More like they ran into me.'

"I see," he responded continuing to look at her. She waited to see if he had more to say but the silence became protracted and she swallowed uncomfortably. She took a step to the side then another and bobbed her head politely in his direction. "Well, I have somewhere to be, senpai, so if you'll excuse me," May said more as a simple effort to get away from Ishi.

"But of course," he said softly as he began to walk past her. His natural spirit energy flared suddenly as he passed her and she paused in shock. Where had he been hiding it? She didn't dare look at him but sensed him pause mid-step and heard him speak, this time his voice holding something close to amusement. "Kuwabara-san, I would advise you to hide that strength of yours. You never know who might be paying attention." Then he walked on and May left feeling chilled to the bone.

* * *

_What do you think? I still have a bit more written but I will soon run out and have to publish as I write... the horror! Anyways, moving on._

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_C.B._


	7. Accessories of Pain

**-Accessories of Pain-**

May had avoided Ishi quite successfully for the next two months as she ducked from class to class then back to her dorm at the end of the day. She'd thought on what he meant by "hiding her strength" and had focused on letting it out through the water in her shower and when she washed her hands, trying to remember how it had felt before the demon's poison had triggered the reaction to give her more strength and spirit energy than she had ever really needed. Unfortunately, through these exercises, she found herself more liable to distraction during her lessons with Yamamoto which brought tongue-lashings she never thought possible by a teacher.

And worse, she was left feeling tired and unmotivated. She managed to scrape through her finals as the winter break loomed around the corner. Thankfully, she had been able to find a job at a local florist shop and, being skilled like she was at it, it didn't take much effort or brain power on her part and the hours were flexible to the point of whenever she arrived was when she started the clock to whenever she was too tired to go on. With her finances stable and a Christmas bonus, she'd also been able to snag a train ticket to Tokyo. Shizuru had been worried about May when she'd taken off the day after her and Kurama's encounter with the murderess and had made her promise to "come home" for Christmas. She had agreed to it at first just so her cousin would let her go but as the time came closer she knew she needed just such a vacation. If anything to get as far away from the dangerously mysterious idol of her musician's academy.

She was in the middle of packing her bag for the three weeks worth of vacation that Ms. Tekio had allowed her for time off work when a knock came on her door. She paused in the middle of putting a scarf into her suitcase feeling out the spirit energy behind the door. She sighed with relief when she ascertained it was not Ishi but her curiosity rose when she realized she didn't recognize the signature at all. She'd made it a point to be familiar with the spirit signatures of every dorm resident within her single complex. She stood up, running a hand through her strangely curly hair and opened her door enough to seem polite but not inviting.

A girl stood there with sightless eyes and a lax mouth. "Huh?" May managed before the girl, dressed in a uniform from one of the local high schools, lunged at her, a knife clutched in her fist. May cried in alarm and managed to slam the door shut and lock it. The possessed high-schooler banged and scratched her knife against the door. "Holy crap!" May hissed as she backed away from the door. She looked around for something to defend herself with in case her attacker broke down the door with her abnormal strength and saw a jar of glass beads on her bedside table. Her eyes narrowed at them and a flash of memory ran through her mind. _The swing in the park, the pebble in her hand that she concentrated all her frustration into, piercing the thick plastic of the play structure._ It finally dawned on her that she had somehow used her spirit energy that one time without even realizing it.

The pounding on the door brought her back to the moment and she heard the wood of the door giving under the pressure of her assailant. She'd recently washed some energy down the drain in her bathroom but she probed it gently with her senses to find there was still a considerable amount there. Swallowing May grabbed a handful of the beads and started concentrating what energy she had into them, filling each with teal light, the color of her spirit energy. She didn't know what she would aim for, not wanting to kill the possessed because of the possessor but what could she do?

The door finally gave and the girl, giving an inhuman cry of attack, rushed in with her knife held high. May grunted as she let a couple beads escape her hand and fly in the direction of the girl. At the last moment she sent them at the girl's hand, puncturing the flesh, blood spattering the ground below as the knife dropped and embedded itself in the floor. The girl with her sightless eyes cradled her hand against her chest and, feeling nauseous, May chopped her neck, knocking the girl to the floor and unconscious. May breathed unsteadily from the adrenaline when she heard the sound of two hands clapping. She spun about, her energy flaring, beads at the ready when she saw Ishi step over the remains of her door and into her room.

"Makoto-senpai," May choked out standing up straighter clenching her fingers around the beads. He was still applauding as he walked within two feet of May. His lips were set in a crooked smile as he looked down at her and let his hands return to his sides. "Honestly, Mayku," he said stressing her nickname pleasantly, "I didn't know you were such a quick and resourceful thinker," he continued reaching a hand out quick as lightning and grasping her wrist. He squeezed it painfully and the girl cried out, her fingers uncurling as if voluntary and the beads dropped to the floor draining of her power the moment they left her skin. "Your habit of running heedlessly and walking with your eyes on the sky really had me in the mindset that you were simply ignorant and undeserving of the power you have. But you have proved me wrong and I'm oddly pleased by that fact." The crooked smile remained in place, his vice like grip still holding her wrist as she looked into his face, tears threatening at the corners of her eyes.

They stood like that for a minute or two, pain shooting through her wrist at intervals, the very touch of his skin sending shocks through her skin, the awareness of his spirit energy washing over her sickeningly. His smile widened as he squeezed her wrist once more before letting her go. May staggered back a few steps rubbing her wrist as she kept her eyes on Ishi. "Mayku," he said softly as a bead floated up from the ground where she'd dropped them and into his hand where he closed his fingers around it, his fist glowing with spirit energy. "You're returning to Tokyo for the holidays, am I correct?" May's expression became closed as she hid her shock. She hadn't told anyone where she was going for Christmas seeing as no one ever talked to her. How would he know? He chuckled lightly before continuing. "I expect you to be back here in three weeks, just like your ticket says. I'm curious as to the extent of your power and would appreciate it if we kept the knowledge of those powers just between us," he murmured walking closer to her. She backed up, putting the unconscious body between them, her wrist against her chest.

He stopped momentarily, looking down at the body. His smile disappeared fleetingly before returning wickedly. He held his freehand above the body and his spirit energy flowed down to envelope it. It glowed brilliantly causing May to shade her eyes and then the body disappeared. She gasped and looked up at him with fearful confusion. He looked at her expression and his smile became crooked again. "She was of no more use to me, so I didn't see any reason to keep her." He had killed her! Staggering back, May felt her legs hit her bed and she dropped onto it, her skirt flaring out as she covered her mouth with a hand.

"Now, now, Mayku," he crooned as he knelt before her, laying the same hand he had used to kill the nameless girl on her trembling knee.

"Don't touch me," she hissed, swatting his hand away. His eyes flashed angrily as he stood and trapped her on her bed. As she tried to get away, his fingers curled into her hair and jerked her head back so she was forced to look up at him. His smile was gone and the air about them crackled with his energy.

"You are in no position to order me around, May. In fact, you're in no position to resist me either," he said bending his face closer to hers. She froze momentarily before fighting against him but he tugged on her hair, making her cry out and look at him again. He opened his other hand in front of her face and she saw the bead had changed into an earcuff the color of the stormy sea.

"What's that?" she asked, her lips trembling as he smiled again.

"Insurance," he said before tilting her head to the side and, brushing her hair away from her ear, placed the opening around the upper part of her ear. "With this you'll be forced to come back to me here and you won't be able to tell people about these powers of yours," he hissed before closing it tightly on her ear. It didn't hurt at first but, holding it in his two fingers, Ishi sent a volt of his spirit energy through it and she felt as though her ear was on fire. May screamed as he concentrated on his task and she punched him wherever she could reach in vain. The pain spread into the side of her head and cheek and her hands shot up to his hand that held her captive. Ishi finally released her ear and the after effects of the pain made her dizzy as she fell back onto the bed looking up at the ceiling without seeing it.

May felt the tears stream across her cheeks as he smiled darkly down at her. "Enjoy your Christmas, May. You should be grateful that I'm giving you that much for when you come back," he said softly as he knelt beside her bed and leaned next to her left ear which he had hurt, whispered, "there will be no leaving my side." He chuckled darkly, kissing her ear before standing back up. He waved his hand and the rest of her clothes that she'd stacked next to her suitcase flew into it neatly and he zipped it up. "There, I even helped you pack, Mayku," he smiled as he turned to leave. As he reached the door, he turned back once more, "Rest tonight and you'll be ready to leave in time for your train." He chuckled a last time before closing the door, leaving May in a painful darkness.

* * *

_Casidhe here!_

_Oh you guys! 5 reviews?! I feel so loved! _

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_Wonderful! And here it is. I did update my Spirited Away fanfic sooner (by a matter of minutes really) because I got 13 reviews from them. But that is besides the point. Thank you all for your very fine support!_

_CB (or Mommy, according to Ninja haha)_


	8. A Little Girl Time

**-A Little Girl Time-**

As promised, May didn't hurt so much in the morning but her ear stung so she braided all of her hair and let it drape over her right shoulder. She looked at it in the mirror and found Ishi had elongated it to mold over the top corner of her ear. Pulling at it gently sent a shock through her leaving her bent over the sink in the bathroom and gasping for breath. She gritted her teeth and looking into the mirror saw her eyes seemed to hold a haunted look. She forced herself not to cry, tearing her gaze from the mirror and grabbing her suitcase and ticket after slipping her pea coat and scarf on, walked out the door of the dorms.

She made it to the train platform just in time to be hurried into the car and to a seat and discovering she had the spot to herself she sat next to the window and gazed out at the bustling people of the station. Just as her train was pulling out, she saw a shock of white hair and a pair of dark, mysterious eyes. Ishi had followed her to the station and now, locking eyes with her, smiled and waved as the train jerked forward and headed out for Tokyo. She closed her eyes tightly and leaned her head back against the chair willing the image out of her head when she heard his voice in her ear. "Three weeks…" her eyes flew open and she looked to her left but there was no one there. Touching the earring, May discovered it to be warm but the feeling faded and she shivered.

The train ride passed too quickly for May's taste as she had tried to come up with a story to explain her appearance and also the earring if it drew any attention. She felt out her stores of energy as she pulled into Tokyo and was shocked to find that they were all muted and seemed to be out of her range to pull on. Ishi had somehow locked her powers but looking at the people in the car, she found she could still pick out spirit energies and she clung to that fact. A month or so before, she would've given anything for her powers to suddenly be locked away but after being attacked by the unfortunate girl, May felt stripped without access to the one weapon she had aside from her fists.

Walking off the train revealed Shizuru waiting for her. She felt a wash of relief as she carried her suitcase over to her cousin and set it down to allow her to be hugged. She leaned into the hug a little longer than usual suddenly needing the protective arms of her cousin about her.

Shizuru held her out at arms length and looked at her closely. "Hey, you okay, May?" My first lie, May thought as she nodded.

"I just missed you, I guess," she explained and Shizuru, taking the reason, grabbed the suitcase and showed May the way as she made small talk with her little cousin about how things were at the academy. May cringed inwardly at every lie she told to make Shizuru think that nothing out of the ordinary had been happening to her and felt relieved when they got to the car and saw they wouldn't be traveling alone.

"I hope you don't mind, May, but Botan and Keiko wanted to go shopping today as well so I thought we could just all go to the mall together, you know?" Shizuru said, slightly apologetic. Assuring her cousin that it was fine with her, she slipped into the passenger seat, greeting Keiko and the strangely blue-haired Botan. Kazuma had explained that it was Botan's powers that had sealed her wounds and, apart from being Koenma's assistant, she was also the Grim Reaper. May was still skeptical that such a cheery person could be the Grim Reaper but she was ready to believe just about anything nowadays.

"On to the mall!" Botan exclaimed as Keiko cheered. A gentle smile tugged at the corner of May's mouth as she watched the traffic pass by on their right. She drank in the sights and sounds and marveled at how much she had actually missed Tokyo the last few months. Part of her wanted to encourage the thoughts of giving up on the music academy and just getting a job at the local florist's so she could stay close to the city. As her thoughts followed this path, the ring on her ear started to heat up to the point it felt like it was on fire and flinching, May dropped the thought and let her eyes glaze over, not really looking at anything anymore.

Before she realized it, Shizuru was parking the car in a spot close to the entrance of the mall. Botan and Keiko resumed their cheering and Shizuru said something about how the mall must've known they were coming, saving them such a great parking spot and all. May had to consciously tell herself to move and opened the door, stepping out into the wintry air. It had yet to snow in Tokyo but there was still a week until Christmas. Botan linked an arm with May and pulled her along and the smaller girl fought to keep up not able to keep a small smile from her face. 'Botan's so easy to get along with,' she thought, 'and even without knowing each other very well she already treats me like she treats Keiko and Shiz.' The notion warmed her heart gently and she realized one of the things she'd been missing the last few months: the unbeatable companionship of friends. She forced everything that had happened to her in the past few months to the back burners of her mind and smiled fondly at her friends.

"So, what shopping are we doing today?" she asked mildly as the four of them passed the food court, Botan dropping hints that they would "return".

"Oh, well, mainly just a little window shopping, I think. Christmas is just around the corner, May, or did you forget with all that school work?" Botan teased and, taking it for face value, she smiled with a shrug.

"Well, you know how it is… study, finals, homework. You tend to lose track of time with so much fun cramming the schedule," she joked back as their strides brought them to a cute little boutique. It sold odds and ends and Keiko led the way in, picking up a plush doll from a basket and cooing about how cute it was. The four split up and looked at whatever interested them and, walking further into the boutique, May found a variety of flowers made out of crystal. She gently took hold of the leaf on a tulip as she looked at the snapdragons, snowdrops, daisies and roses. Her fingers traced the flowers as she walked along the row, appreciating the attention to detail.

"You know, miss, they smell like the real deal!" said a gravelly voice from behind her. She looked over at the man startled only because she hadn't expected him to speak with her. He was a rather squat man with a ring of hair and a bald spot, his eyes brown behind an overly-magnifying pair of glasses.

"Do they now?" she asked gently as he picked up a blue colored rose and held it out to her. "Here, take a whiff," he said with a rather craggy but sincere smile. She obligingly took the fragile stem in her fingers and held it to her nose and "oh"-ed softly in surprise. "I told you they smell real. I've perfected it over time, you see," the man said, his chest puffing up proudly.

"You made them yourself?" she asked unable, once again, to conceal her surprise. He nodded proudly which made her smile. He was old but his joy in having such a creation of his own made him seem like a child. "I wish I had money then. I have a friend who would definitely appreciate something like this," she said gently, her thoughts having turned easily to Kurama. Somewhere within her thrummed in surprise for she realized she hadn't had him come to mind without bidding it in quite sometime. She smiled to herself and the man hummed with a smile.

"Friend or lover?" he asked with a sly light in his eye. May looked at him blankly for a moment before catching on and, her jaw dropping slightly, felt her cheeks burn crimson. This sent the old man cackling good-naturedly as she stammered.

"No, no! That's not it. He's a friend, that's all!" she said but she had lost the man and so she stood there with blush on her cheeks as he patted her jovially on the back. "Perhaps you might bring him here next time you're around? That way he can buy one for you!" the man laughed again before nodding to her and walking away to talk with another customer. May sighed, her cheeks returning to normal as she smelled the rose again before putting it back in its display. She shook her head and walked back toward the front to find Shizuru and the girls heading to the opening too, joking about something they had seen.

When they saw she had joined them they walked out and to the next store.

By the time they were heading away from the mall, the clouds had turned ominous and May watched them apprehensively not really desiring rain to fall on her head at the moment. If anyone noticed her sudden mood change, no one remarked on it as Shizuru drove to the Kuwabara residence. True to Botan's description, there had only been window shopping and thus having no bags to carry inside made May's carrying her suitcase in easier than it would have been if encumbered with other packages.

The temperature outside was quickly dropping and walking into the house revealed that it needed heating up. Shizuru flipped the switch on and the house seemed to rumble to life as the heater kicked in. "You really should get that monstrosity replaced, Shizuru," Botan said with a serious expression.

"Why replace something that works, Botan?" Shizuru asked with a smile as she took a seat in one of the lazy chairs. Keiko laughed gently. Apparently the argument was an ongoing thing, May figured. She put her suitcase in Shizuru's room before walking over to and curling up on the couch, Botan at the other end and Keiko in the chair by Shizuru. The room heated up quickly and May mentally agreed with her cousin. Although it was loud like Botan had suggested, it did the job it was made for and did it well.

The four sat and talked about the various things they'd found during the window shopping and when May came to the crystal flowers (while skirting around her conversation with the boutique owner) Botan thumped her fist gently into her palm. "I'm sure Kurama would appreciate something like that." May nodded and gave a small smile. "I'll admit he came briefly to mind," she said softly. Botan looked at her for a moment before a sly smile spread across her face and she was suddenly closer to May than at first. "Oh ho ho! Is there something going on between you and our lovely Kurama?" she asked, nudging her arm.

"No! It's just he was the first one to come to mind because he smells of roses and all," May exclaimed trying to fend the not-so-Grim Reaper off.

"That beautiful blush would say otherwise," Botan said in a sing-song way. May protested again when Shizuru spoke up.

"Ah c'mon, Botan layoff. May hasn't seen the pretty boy since she last saw us. Nothing is going on between them," Shizuru said calmly, waving her hand in the air as May nodded.

"You never know, Shizuru. Kurama has been in and out of touch with us all lately. What if he was making some secret rendezvous' up to May's school?" Botan said which caused May to pause and wonder about his actions but then Keiko spoke up.

"Botan, if that were true, then what about Hiei? He's always MIA these days. Is he, too, sneaking off to visit a girl?" she said as Shizuru agreed.

"Aww, you girls are no fun," Botan pouted returning to her spot on the couch.

"Well, you never know Botan. What if they're being sent out on secret cases that Koenma just hasn't told you about?" Shizuru said, sounding as though she were half-teasing and half-serious. This caused the blue-haired girl to look a little put out so May took the chance to change the subject.

"Hey, Shiz, when do you suppose Kazuma will be home?" she asked out of curiosity. Shizuru looked at her blankly for a moment before dropping a fist into her palm. "Oh yeah, we're supposed to be meeting them for dinner and dancing at 6:15," Shizuru said.

The other three looked over at the clock on the wall which read 5:45. Botan and Keiko blew up while May chuckled on the couch. Typical Shizuru, she thought as she watched her get attacked by the other two who scolded her for giving them only a half hour's notice. Shizuru sat calmly as she shrugged.

"You know, the longer you whine about how little time you have, the less time you'll give yourselves. Although I don't see why you would need more than five minutes to grab your shoes, coats and purses and get in the car," May pointed out. The two froze for a moment before Botan pulled Keiko by the arm to the bathroom, where they made a decent bit of racket. May stood from her spot on the couch and moved over to the seat Keiko had vacated, glancing over at her cousin. "I didn't know you had enough stuff in the bathroom to cause such a ruckus," May said quietly.

"Don't blame me. They stayed the night last night and brought all their stuff from home. They sure travel prepared though," Shizuru laughed softly and looked back at the clock. "I wonder how early they're going to try and force us to get to the club," Shizuru mumbled.

"A club? I've never been to one before," May confessed. Shizuru shrugged her shoulders, claiming it was nothing to fuss over as Botan and Keiko came back into the room. They'd changed their clothes and curled their hair. May gave them a once over before looking at her cousin. "Then what's this?" she asked.

"May!" Botan said, "Do you have anything more… dance party-style than what you're wearing?" May blinked up at the pink-eyed girl before looking down cursorily at her clothes. She wore a rather baggy style of jean compared to what she usually did with a simple red shirt and a simple chain that tipped sideways around her waist. Her mind then wandered to her packed clothes and she thought of the skirt she had packed. She had soft black, ankle boots waiting at the door.

"What would you consider more dance-party-whatever? These pants or a black skirt?" she asked quietly, not sure what Botan had meant. Botan grabbed her by the wrist and into Shizuru's room and, with a sigh, May opened her suitcase and, finding the skirt, pulled it out and handed it to the Ferry Girl. Botan unfolded it and grinned.

"Bingo! This will be perfect, May. It's got a way about it, very flirty," Botan cheered. May lifted a brow and thought to herself, do I want to be flirty? Botan gave it back to her and walked to the door, "Oh! And if you have nylons or something, that would be a nice touch too!" then she closed the door leaving a rather perplexed May in her wake.

* * *

_I am just mildly sad to see that my already written material for this story is beginning to dwindle but at least that means that I can get my creative juices flowing once more for this story. Also, it gives me more of an opportunity to have my character be romanced, you know?_

_Anyway, thank you for your very fine support these last few days!_

_Reviews: _

_SakiHanajima1- never fear! There will be a way out for our heroine and yes, she will spend more time with the gang. Jest you wait!_

_Molly Grace 16- All I have in response to this is a smile... :)_

_Kshepps27- thank you! I am glad you think it excellent._

_NinjaOfSilence- and to this... XD You dear goober._

_TheChosenOne1889- well it is a good thing that I look forward to writing more!_

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_You all are awesome! _

_CB_


	9. Dancing, Twirling, Burning

**-Dancing, Twirling, Burning-**

May sat quietly in the booth that Kazuma had reserved for their "party". The boys had yet to arrive seeing as Keiko and Botan had insisted upon getting there at exactly 6:15. The music in the club played loudly but seeing as they had gotten a table in a partitioned corner it wasn't as loud and May could watch other people who were eating at their quiet tables. She had discovered that she had, indeed, packed some nude-color nylons and thus, according to Botan's order, had worn them with her skirt and boots.

Botan had insisted with Keiko agreeing that she keep her silver belt on to add some flair and then they had attacked her with a curling iron as well. The two had oo-ed and aw-ed over the waist length black tresses as Shizuru had snickered in the background. Upon discovery of Ishi's "gift", Keiko had insisted they show off the cool "piercing" and had pinned the left side of her hair away from her face. She felt sick when it was displayed like that but Keiko didn't know so she played it off like it was a great idea.

Currently, the four were sitting at their table waiting for the boys as a blush started to cool on May's cheeks. The bouncer had given her a once over and said something that she only heard in the movies and didn't care to repeat. It had earned him a slap in the face and her some good-natured teasing from the girls. When they had gotten to the table, she'd immediately sat down, crossing her legs and folding her arms tightly across her stomach. "Oh, come now, May! We were just teasing. No need to give us the silent treatment," Botan pouted as May continued to look away from her face. The Grim Reaper eventually gave up and started reassuring Keiko that she looked wonderful and how proud Yusuke would be.

"Hey, May?" Shizuru said gently, scooting closer to her younger cousin. May looked back up at her and invited her to continue. "Does your piercing hurt?" May looked at her startled and noted her hand was coming away from her ear as she asked, "No, why?"

"You just seem to be touching it a lot and it looks like it might be a little infected is all," she said softly as she reached up to touch it.

"No!" May exclaimed, leaning abruptly away from her cousin's touch and startling her. "I mean, no, it's fine. You needn't worry about it, Shiz. I'll go check it out in the mirror in the bathroom, okay?" she said with an apologetic smile as she scooted out of the booth-style seats and, locating the bathroom sign, headed straight for it.

After making sure no one else was in the bathroom, May turned her face to the side and looked at her ear in disgust. It, indeed, was red around the edges of the magic-infused glass and she leaned against the counter over the sink. Well, it was definitely a great metaphor; she thought grimly, Ishi's presence in my life is an infection.

_I'm so glad you think of me with such affection_ whispered a voice in her ear. She shuddered and looked up into the mirror, her eyes wide with terror. The area around the ring had gone back to a normal color. _And I'm so glad I waited until you were alone to speak with you for you might alert them to my presence with such expressions as these _he said as her expression became sick, her head falling forward so she couldn't see her expression. 'Get out of my head,' she moaned in her thoughts. The fire in her ear flared and she bit back a cry. _My pet shouldn't say such things_. Her gaze turned into a glare as the pain eased again. 'What do you want?' she asked sulkily. _Just to check up on you, make sure you didn't flee the country or some silly thing like that _he said mockingly. She could sense him smiling as she left the bathroom and his presence faded. She rubbed her arms against the sudden chill and, returning to the table, found the boys had finally arrived along with the drinks and menus.

May caught Botan's sly smile as she slid onto the last available space on the booth which put her next to Kurama. She shot the Reaper a dark look which made the smile disappear and caused her to suddenly speak rather loudly to Keiko. "Hey coz," Kazuma greeted her and she smiled warmly in his direction.

"May, how was your trip?" Kurama asked quietly to her right. She looked up at him and smiled a fraction late but ignored the flicker of recognition in his eye.

"It went smoothly, a little boring but I managed," she replied, turning her eyes to the menu. Hiei had had to pull up a chair at the open space of the booth to accommodate himself and thus, sitting to her left had easy speaking access to her as well.

"And your ear?" Hiei asked looking almost pointedly at her ear. She felt a faint blush frost her cheeks. She barely salvaged the situation as she asked, "How do you mean?" His eyes narrowed slightly as Kurama coughed gently beside her. May turned her attention to him and he smiled slightly. "Shizuru said you had gone to the restroom to check on a possible infection, and Hiei was concerned. Isn't that right, Hiei?" Kurama asked shooting a look at his spiky-haired friend.

Hiei gave a soft "hn" as he turned his attention to the menu in his hand. May's ear burned slightly and she faked a sneeze to cover her flinch, but she endeavored to ignore it, having taken the clip out of her hair to let it hide the redness. "If it's infected, shouldn't you be letting it breathe?" Hiei asked without looking at her.

"Hiei," Kurama said as if in warning.

"It's not infected," May said under her breath as she kept her eyes trained on the menu. She heard a sigh from her right and wondered if they could perhaps sense the difference in her or the power that had been used to make the ear décor. Another shot of burning ran through her ear and down her neck and, putting an elbow on the table, she touched her ear gently then rested a hand on her neck, keeping her pain masked as best she could. She felt a pair of green eyes resting on her face and let her blue eyes flicker to Kurama. The rest of the table had gone silent aside from Yusuke and Kazuma who were discussing their options aloud and May mouthed "what" at the demon beside her.

A soft smile seemed to settle in his eyes as he shook his head once before looking at the menu once more. She felt the warmth of self-consciousness crawl up her neck and her face as she returned her eyes, determined, to the menu to pick something.

From time to time, May's ear would burn and she figured Ishi was trying to get her attention but she crammed her attention with so many other things that she was able to ignore the sensation caused by the ring. She listened to the groups bantering, laughed quietly along with the rest when Yusuke's and Kazuma's plates arrived in smaller portions than the rest, asked general questions about the stresses and outlook of the last few months and answered the same in turn. She even took to listening to the music from the dance floor when there wasn't enough conversation going on to cling to.

Everyone took care of their bills (Shizuru covering May's) and soon Botan and Keiko were dragging everyone to the dance floor. It was an upbeat song when they first entered the actual dance room and May, grasping straws to keep her attention on the evening at hand and not on the thief who'd stolen her ear, allowed Keiko to pull her along behind her until they were almost in the middle of the dancing bodies. She had a good sense of rhythm being a musician and it was easy enough to move to the fast paced song. The boys had ended up staying at the bar along with Shizuru while May and the other two danced their hearts out.

When more popular songs came on that the three knew they would sing them together at the top of their lungs laughing when Botan tried to hit the ear-piercing note the lead female pulled off so easily. It soon came to a point where May wanted a break and a slower song started to play. She sighed in relief as Botan and Keiko made their way toward the bar to their group but giggled lightly when Botan more or less pulled Kurama onto the dance floor along with Keiko and Yusuke tagging behind. May sat down on a bar stool, remembering to keep her legs together for the sake of a skirt and watched Botan and Kurama dance with a respectable distance while Yusuke and Keiko swayed a little more closely together.

After a few seconds, May's gaze wandered to the counter under her right arm and she traced the patterns in the swirled granite with her eyes. Even with the volume of the music and the obviously muted voices they spoke in, May could pick out Kazuma and Shizuru's voices on the other side of Hiei. She latched onto their conversation and was surprised to hear them talking about her. She zoned out everything as best she could, being vaguely aware of the burning sensation in her ear, to listen closely. It was hard to pick out their exact words but closing her eyes helped.

"…yeah, I noticed it too. I knew her hair grew quickly but not _that_ quickly. And it seems that piercing is really bothering her. She's touching it now, I can tell, though her hair is covering it," Kazuma was saying.

"Mm, I'm glad someone else noticed. Her natural spirit energy seems to be a bit low as well but otherwise she seems fine health and spirit wise… she's just a bit off on her responses though, like she's trying to hide something. I wish she would just tell us what it is…" Shizuru spoke in return but May was jerked from her concentration by the sensation of someone watching her. Her eyes flew open but she looked over calmly to see Hiei giving her a sidelong glance.

"Eavesdropping is considered rude among you humans, isn't it?" he asked as he let his gaze flicker back to the room. She opened her mouth to deny it when he continued. "I can tell, so don't lie to me, it would just be a waste of a good lie. If you plan on eavesdropping in the near future, learn to do it while looking like you're bored or totally rapt in something else. You don't close your eyes or tilt your head in the direction from which the conversation is coming," he advised, letting his gaze wander from couple to couple on the dance floor. She hadn't noticed she'd tilted her head but she pursed her lips and looked out at the dancers as well.

"It can't be seen as completely wrong, though," May retorted softly. "I was the subject of their conversation after all. I'm sure you heard enough to know that much." She leaned back against the bar with both elbows supporting her with her back as she looked at him.

"You're not allowed to talk about the piercing, right?" Hiei asked out of nowhere looking at May from the corner of his eye. She blinked, valiantly hiding her surprise. But she didn't answer either. He gave another of his signature "hn"-s before returning his gaze to the crowd. Just as quickly as he had brought it up, he had dropped it and so May forced all thought of the question out of her mind lest _he_ pick it up from her thoughts. Another fast song played and she was pulled back to the dance floor with Botan and Keiko.

The press of bodies around them was both uncomfortable and exhilarating. As the three danced, a group of guys around their ages joined their small circle and May acclimated easily to the dynamic, both dancing to her hearts content but avoiding touching the bodies of the strangers. These were the only times she found grace, ironically, was while she danced. At one point, however, it was encouraged to switch places with someone in the circle by joining hands briefly, turning in a small circle, and moving into the space that was vacated. It moved rather smoothly, the other two being bold enough to join hands with the men but May stuck with switching spots with Keiko and Botan.

On the fourth and fifth change, May was startled by hands grasping hers that were those of one of their new male companions. She went with it but as they stepped toward each other and spun she saw what seemed to be an overlap of Ishi's face with the man she switched places with. Her breath stopped for that split second that they were the closest and her heart picked up double time when they separated and filled the spaces. She heard laughter in her left ear only and the man she'd swapped places with continued to smile at her. She'd stopped dancing like he had and he nodded. _Yes, it is me. Surprised?_ Apologizing to Keiko and Botan, May turned and pushed herself through the dancing bodies, the closeness no longer okay with her sense of comfort.

Her vision was suddenly awash with color, the colors of all the spirit energies around her assailing her senses. She felt as though she were drowning, her ear ringing and burning as she began to fall forward, fainting into black nothingness.

She was awoken rather abruptly by the sting of a cold wind on her cheek and she gasped as she felt a strong pair of arms around her. Her thoughts immediately jumped to the conclusion that it was none other but Ishi who had her and so she fought tooth and nail to get away from her captor. During her fight for life she became vaguely aware of a screaming in her ears. It took her another moment to realize it was her screaming and there was a gentle but firm voice speaking in her right ear. "Please, May! Stop fighting me or I'll drop you!" the voice said in such a volume as to be heard through her screams. "May, open your eyes and see who is holding you!" the voice commanded and her screaming stopped, her voice cracking as she opened her eyes, sapphire looking into emerald.

She took in a shuddering breath and he flinched as if preparing for another bout of screams but she broke into tears, now fighting to hold on instead of to get away. "Kuwabara, you'll have to drive," Kurama explained as she was distantly aware of car doors opening and the girls asking if she was alright. "Shizuru, we'll meet you at the house," Kurama said before maneuvering himself into the back seat of his car. Hiei took the passenger seat as Kuwabara took over the driver's seat. Glancing out of the frosted window, Kurama could see the girls piling into Shizuru's car as Yusuke got onto his motorcycle.

May continued crying into him and all he could do currently was hold her. It was quiet in the car aside from the girl's crying and Kurama pursed his lips as he watched the break down she must have been suppressing for weeks now. His spirit smoldered angrily at the memory of Koenma telling him and Hiei that they were not to contact her at all. 'I need you to watch over her. I have had my reporters telling me that there is something strange going on at that academy. It all circles around this man, Makoto Ishi. However, I have looked through all the files we have here in Spirit World and there is no such person which leads me to believe he must be an apparition of some sort. We need to get him to come to us and May will be the perfect target for him, what with the strange transformation that murderess' poison has given her and all.'

Koenma had used May as bait and through all this, they still didn't have an exact location on him. 'But from the way she acted tonight, I have a feeling he is a lot closer than we think which means Hiei will have to be extra careful when he meanders through her thoughts…' Kurama thought as he looked down at her haggard appearance.

'I'm always careful,' came the whisper of Hiei's thoughts.

'But of course, Hiei,' Kurama replied, his thoughts tinted with gloomy humor. 'Now please exit my thoughts,' Kurama requested. There was a slight tension on Hiei's end before Kurama felt him withdraw. As the purr of the car continued, it seemed to soothe May and Kurama held her less tightly, moving her hair away from her face and looking at the "piercing" on her ear. The area immediately around the glass was pure white and in alarm, he touched just the ear, avoiding the glass. It was freezing! He clenched his teeth, not wanting to alarm Kuwabara to what was happening in the back seat. A part of Kurama admired Kuwabara's desire to protect his cousin and his constant worry for her these last few months had been wearing his nerves away. 'If he only _knew_ the danger Koenma has been putting her in. I think we'd soon need to find a new ruler for the Spirit World,' Kurama thought as he held his hand over May's ear, sending some healing power to the girl.

He saw her flinch at first but, in his endeavor to appear as harmless as possible, merely someone trying to stop her ear from hurting, she relaxed and lifting his hand slightly he could see her ear regaining its natural color. Letting his shoulders relax a little, the demon continued to send a small but steady stream of healing to May to allow her rest from her demanding captor. Her breathing slowed into sleep and he let his eyes rest on her face for a moment more before looking out the window at the cold streets of Tokyo. 'That's right, May. Get your rest for I fear the next few hours are going to be painful…' Kurama thought, his brow furrowed in a quiet show of anxiety.

Upon reaching the Kuwabara residence, Kurama made quick decisions and informed the group that he was going to take May to Koenma. "I have a feeling that her panic attack might be only something Koenma can answer," he explained, skirting around the fact that both Hiei and he knew exactly what was going on. Koenma had even kept it from Botan even though she was his most trusted assistant. To his surprise, there was no resistance from either of May's cousins. They simply nodded soberly and looking at her cousin, Shizuru voiced what she and her brother had discussed.

"May's spirit energy has been off ever since the day after the woman attacked the two of you. We're worried that she might be fading because we can barely sense it anymore whereas we used to be alerted to her presence just by the feeling she brought into a room," Shizuru said, keeping her eyes on May's unconscious form. Kurama was still sending a steady healing into her as he held her.

Kurama nodded and, looking at Hiei who nodded, they both walked to Kuwabara's room and, opening the door walked through it. Botan was close behind them and she was asking questions but Kurama and Hiei remained silent as they walked to Koenma's office.

"Tell me what's going on! Is this why the two of you have been missing so much lately?" Botan persisted as the three of them with the sleeping May reached the door. Hiei opened the door and stepped aside for Kurama and the sleeping May, Botan following close behind and then walked in, shutting the door.

Koenma looked up from his desk to see them approaching. He hadn't been sitting but leaning over something that lay on top of the wood and he looked unusually sober. "I'm glad you brought her here, Kurama… Hiei…" said the prince as he straightened up and picked up what seemed to be a letter and held it out to Hiei seeing as Kurama's hands were full. The smaller demon skimmed the letter and growled. "Read it aloud, Hiei," Koenma instructed as he folded his arms over his chest and looked off to the side. Botan shifted uncomfortably, clearly not used to Koenma not even mentioning her. Hiei pursed his lips for a moment before reading the letter's contents aloud.

"'_Dear Koenma,_

_By now, I am positive that you have been keeping tabs on my activities. Do not think I didn't notice your demons watching over Kuwabara May. I'll let you in on why I did not confront them. You see, as it turns out, I have taken a great interest in this May creature that you've also turned your attentions to. I must admit, I first only paid her attention because Haruka, that lovely woman who was taking care of the extermination of the human population, went after her. I thought this May must've had some latent power and after the reaction her body and spirit energy had to Haruka's poison, I was sure that she was no ordinary human as I'm sure you have come to realize as well._

_I thought it only too perfect when I found May was coming to me. Imagine my excitement when the object of my syndicate's special attention was walking willingly into my territory? Of course, I had to go by His rules and thus had to lie in wait to see if her powers would develop by themselves. The woman I watched was not what I had expected: always losing track of time, watches the sky as she walks, watches the ground as she runs. Was she kidding? However, I could sense her power and it made my blood restless. So, in hopes of throwing the rest of my syndicate off her trail, I gently warned her to hide her powers. How was I to know she would somehow discover a way to drain herself slowly but surely?_

_For a moment, I thought I had scared her away from the academy altogether but a peek in her bedroom confirmed that she was indeed still there. But, again I must admit, my plan to throw the rest of the group off her trail worked like a charm and they are currently searching desperately to find her for reasons that you need not know. I felt as though I might go crazy, however, when I discovered she would be going away for the winter break. I had to test her before she left of course, which explains the death of that human Wakamura Kiko. Rest easy in the knowledge that May didn't kill her but instead went to some pretty fantastical lengths to hurt Wakamura as little as possible. She even knocked her out in hopes to gain some time to think. She drained herself of just enough power that I could trap her as I'm sure your lackeys have discovered._

_I must be getting weaker for I couldn't stand not seeing her even for a full day so I had to make my way to Tokyo as well and I fear I might've sent her off edge. To my dismay, it would seem that the once great Kurama got to her first and thus thwarted my plan to recapture her and take her back to the academy. Furthermore, I must express my disgust in the way Kurama has cut me off from the lovely May. But I know she will be back by my side soon enough. Until she is, however, how does the great Prince Koenma feel about some rather untimely deaths? Starting tonight at midnight, if I don't regain the connection I had with May, there will be a blood bath more delicious than that of my associate, Haruka. Just a thought._

_Best Regards,_

_Ishi of the Panther Clan_"

Hiei finished reading it and the room was silent. Each lost in their own contemplation. During the reading, Koenma had summoned a comfortable chair for Kurama who sat down in it, cradling May against him and sending healing through her body keeping her asleep. "Koenma," Botan said breaking the silence, "have you heard anything about this Panther Clan?" She apparently hadn't and looking at Koenma's face, neither had he.

"No. But the form this Haruka's powers took is very old from what I could read about it. So either they are a very old group or they've done research and found someone to teach them how to use the spells. Unfortunately, all I have to go off of Ishi's powers is what I can observe and his hints about having some sort of connection with May through that earring he placed on her ear. Somehow, I'm sure he has depressed her spirit energy in such a way as to make it seem that she's either very far away or on the brink of death," Koenma said as his gaze rested on where Kurama's hand hovered over May's ear. "Kurama, is it simply your presence that throws him off or what?" he asked.

"I've been sending a steady current of healing energy into her. She's been asleep ever since," Kurama supplied before remembering why he had started healing her in the first place. "I think that this earring holds all the answers. It would appear that he can manipulate it from a distance, causing her discomfort from either freezing cold or intense heat," Kurama continued.

"She was rubbing her ear the entire evening and from what I could get of her behavior from Shizuru she'd been doing so unconsciously since the moment she picked her up from the train station," Hiei inserted as he walked to a window and sat on the sill looking out at Spirit World.

"I see," Koenma said nodding and walking over to sit at his desk. Botan was leaning against the wall looking ill. "How much longer can you keep up the healing, Kurama?" he asked, shuffling some papers on the desk.

"A couple more hours at the most," spoke the redhead as the Spirit World ruler nodded. "I think, though, that any sort of power being leaked into her should throw Ishi off her trail. Healing is probably the best but what I mean is that anyone of your healers could probably hold him off, especially if you mean to send us after him," Kurama said calmly, following Koenma's thought pattern.

The prince hummed quietly, shuffling some more papers on the desk before looking directly at the demon. "Is there any way to get that earring off? It might be the only way to trace Ishi."

"I don't know," Kurama said as a soft breeze announced Hiei's presence beside the chair.

"Keep up the healing, Kurama, she is going to need it," was the only warning Hiei gave before laying his hands on May's temples and sending his power inward. Almost immediately, May's eyes flew open, gasping. Kurama's brow furrowed, in concentration, as he increased the healing energy he sent into her body. In spite of his efforts, May began to struggle and groan in pain but Hiei kept his hands at her temples. The next five minutes seemed to go on forever as Kurama held May as still as possible as Hiei did who knows what to her. She gave one last scream at such a pitch to make any average human's ears bleed before she went limp in Kurama's arms, staring sightlessly up at the ceiling, breathing unevenly.

The shorter demon slipped his hand to her ear and pulled the earring off with seeming ease. Allowing himself only a glimpse before healing her in earnest, Kurama found her ear to be bleeding. The earring was covered in her blood but still gleamed as if it was trying to look harmless. Hiei held it out in Koenma's direction the slight down curve of his lip showing his disgust.

"Here's the monster's creation. Get it away from me before I incinerate it," Hiei said coolly. Koenma's breath caught before he reached out a hand and levitated the small thing from Hiei's hand. The crimson eyed demon clenched his fist around the blood as he returned with measured steps to his post.

"Botan, take this to the lab and have them start the test immediately," Koenma said as he wrapped it in a white cloth that instantly stained with May's blood. Botan nodded looking sicker still before summoning her oar and, taking the earring, flew off. Rather belatedly, the power within May that had been suppressed caught the three's attention and Koenma grimaced.

"Her power is growing rapidly. I'm sure everyone within 100 miles felt that just now," Koenma said, looking at Kurama. "And if Ishi was reaching out for it," he began.

"Then he probably felt it too," Kurama finished as he looked down at May who, although her breathing had returned to being regular, continued to stare unseeingly at the ceiling. "May," he said trying to catch her attention. Her eyelashes flickered over her eyes and when he said her name again she focused on him, her dark blue eyes gazing at him. He could see the pain that lay in her gaze coupled with fear. His words of comfort caught in his throat at the rawness of her emotions.

"Kurama, I think it would be wise to move away from here as quickly as possible to the remotest place imaginable. Unfortunately I also think it would be better to hide in the Makai rather than the Human World because her increased power would be better masked there," Koenma said looking at May then at Kurama who pulled his gaze from the girl and nodded soberly. The prince nodded shortly before turning to his blue-haired assistant who had just flown back into the room. "Botan, do you know of any place I could send May with a companion in the Makai to keep her safe?" The Grim Reaper slipped off her oar seeming to be glad to have somewhere else to immediately turn her thoughts. She was quiet for a moment before brightening and dropping a fist in her palm said, "I know just the place. Why don't we send them to Hang-neck Island? No one is expected to be there for another six months or so for the next Dark Tournament. The only demons there are those who are focused on training and then the hotel staff is there of course for the upkeep. We could get a suite for them, perhaps?" Koenma rubbed his chin as he thought of her proposition and looked back at the demon. He sighed heavily, leaning against his desk.

"I can't think of anything better, currently. I will try to think of a better place to send her but until I do, will that be alright?" Koenma asked. Kurama bit his lip, looking back at May who was still looking at him apparently having no energy to do much else. "Of course, I'll send the others to rotate in if it takes longer than a few days. Heck, maybe I'll even drop in to say hi to her every now and again," the prince said trying for a cheery attitude but it fell just shy of natural.

"There's no way around it, I suppose," Kurama assented. The Spirit World ruler nodded once before moving behind his desk and picking up the phone.

"Botan, I need you to go and get clothes for May. We'll need to give Kurama a chance to go back to his apartment in the Human World before they get completely settled. It's lucky that I set up that portal the last time we were there, don't you think?" he asked no one in particular before dialing a number into the keypad and waited. Botan left on her oar as Hiei breezed over to his friend's side.

"Is her ear still bleeding?" he asked quietly. Kurama removed his hand from where it had been hiding May's left ear and found that the blood had begun to form a rather unsightly scab but it was done bleeding.

"Yes, it would seem so," Kurama said with a sigh of relief as he stopped sending healing energy into her.

Her eyes snapped to a clearer focus as she felt the fog that had seemed to cloak her drift away and bring the pain and fear she'd felt over the last hour or so swim sickeningly before her. She felt dizzy and let her eyes shut as she felt herself spin between consciousness and unconsciousness. She felt like there was a roaring in her ears that drowned out all the voices about her.

At one point she recognized that Kurama had left and she was curled up in the slightly overstuffed chair. She opened her eyes just enough to register a black shape on the other side of the room with points of crimson towards the top. Hiei, she thought blurrily. She heard a muzzy voice to her right before she drifted back to unconsciousness.

The next time she was aware, she felt the world rocking softly under her and she smelled pine with the tang of demon energy. She didn't feel the usual fear that accompanied this realization and she wondered if all her emotions were being depressed. She heard a quiet whisper of voices as she struggled to lift her heavy eyelids but they resisted and thus she fell back asleep.

Vague wisps of dreams flowed across her subconscious of cold barren places and pain and loneliness. She knew they were memories but not hers and she felt pity toward the one they belonged to and wondered weakly why they came to her.

* * *

_Casidhe here!_

_Oh how I adore you! Thank you for all your admirable support and patience as I have been working to bring this next chapter to you. You might note that it is extra long! Why? Because I couldn't bring myself to torture you by cutting it in half. Sigh... _

_But I will let you in on a secret that won't be secret for long but you shall know of it first. Out of the three stories I have going here, I have updated this one first. Why? Because although you came in second for number of reviews, not one of you told me to hurry or die. Ahem. Unlike a reviewer for my other story (which received 10 reviews for the latest chapter)... yeah. The quickest and easiest way to squash my desire to update is demanding I continue without so much as a "please" or "great job". Tear. I do love enthusiasm toward my writing but I do have a life and stresses and upsets so I appreciate when you enjoy what I write but willingly wait for the next installment. _

_Keep it up! You're golden!_

_Reviews:_

_Molly Grace 16- yes, indeed Ishi is nuts and creepy... but I was so hoping to make a suave bad guy. Apparently this is something that I need to work on. Seriously, one of my dreams is to write an antagonist that part of you just can't help but want to root for! _

_NinjaOfSilence- erm. Yes. Thank you for reading, as usual. _

_SakiHanajima1- I can only smile in response to this review._

_Kshepps27- And here it is! What happens in the club and then some. Hope you are content!_

_Nevvy- Oh nevvy! I think my heart broke a little when you admitted to picturing Dilandau! As I noted to Molly, I was hoping for a more suave feeling bad guy. And if you have pictured Ishi as equivalent... no! I have completely failed! Wahn! That aside, I hope I have answered your question properly with this chapter in concerns to the earring. _

_Followers: , Anime-Kunoichi, nevvy_

_Favorites: NinjaOfSilence, kimmay94, Linnea Farhen_

_Again thanks for support!_

_And just a side note: I did mean to get this out roughly a week ago but my parents and siblings came for a rather impromptu surprise visit! I haven't seen them since last July, so it was kind of a big deal. However, soon after they left, I got kind of gloomy and then sick so I wanted to make sure I was feeling well again before attempting to post because I don't want my mood to affect what I present to you unless it is a positive affect! (Such as a longer chapter... you know.)_

_Love you all!_

_CB_


	10. Of Pride and Raspberries

**-Of Pride and Raspberries-  
**

May became aware of a comfortable bed beneath her and a comforter and sheets tucked close about her. Her head was sunk slightly into a fluffy pillow and she felt like simply laying there for a while, taking it all in. However the whisper of a page being turned caught her attention and her curiosity urged her to open her eyes and investigate the source. Taking a deep breath, May let her eyes flutter open and she saw the light from a lamp resting on the book the page belonged to. The book was held in a pair of hands that she followed up to long red hair and a gentle face.

"Kurama," she rasped and surprised herself with her own voice. It sounded as though it hadn't been used for days. His emerald eyes looked up from the page he had been reading and looked at her for a moment but sparked suddenly registering the fact that she was awake.

"May," he said in mildly surprise as he quickly set his book aside under the lamp on the bedside table. He stood from his chair and walked toward what she guessed was the bathroom and soon returned with a cup of water. Her ears picked up on the gentle swish of it before they should have but she dismissed it as she tried to sit up. Kurama moved quickly to her side and, setting the cup on the bedside table, helped prop May up against the pillows. He then lifted the cup to her lips and she drank as if she'd been parched in the middle of a desert for days. She heard him chuckle when it ran out and saw the look of dismay on her face. She was sure if she'd had the energy she would have blushed but he simply went back to the bathroom and refilled the cup.

He did that four times before her throat was quenched enough and she sighed with content. He set the cup back on the table before, scooting the chair closer to the edge of the bed, taking a seat beside her. "How do you feel, May?" he asked gently. She looked over at him and saw he was concerned and she tried to crack a smile.

"I've been worse," it was just a little flat though and his shoulders dropped almost imperceptibly. Not knowing what to say, she let her eyes wander around the dark room. She could make out a curtain on the far side, perhaps a window, but only faint light shown at the edges so she guessed it was late night or so. She cleared her throat, keeping her eyes on the curtains. "Where are we, Kurama?"

"We're in the Makai," he said in reply as he stood from his seat and walked over to the curtains. He pulled them aside gently and gestured outside. She couldn't see much from where she was except the moon and stars and some treetops.

"It looks like my world," she said a little perplexed. She saw him nod as he looked out the window.

"Well, yes. Koenma did say it was exactly like your world except for with demons instead of humans. However, currently it is safer for you here than your own Earth," said the demon as he continued to look out the window. She saw the light of the moon fall across his cheek but his head was tilted just so and she couldn't see his eyes. The Makai was safer than the Human World? Her hand flew to her ear and she felt a tender scab but the cool glass was gone. She must have gasped because Kurama looked back at her and sighed. His footsteps carried him to the bed and he sat on the edge watching her reaction.

"Hiei somehow removed it and now it's in Koenma's labs. We're trying to find out if we can trace Ishi through the remnants of the power in the glass," Kurama said quietly. May felt the shock on her face and she couldn't help but point at him as she asked, "How do you…? I didn't say…? What?" She felt her head spinning and she lay back against the pillows putting a hand to her forehead. After making sure she was okay, Kurama went on. "Koenma will have to explain his reasons for the secrecy to you himself but Hiei and I have been watching you for the last few months in an attempt to catch Ishi. It would seem that he was in league with Haruka, the murderess who attacked us," he said with a slight note of shame. Her eyes lit upon his face as she felt anger settle in.

"Did you see him do this to me?" she asked with barely concealed resentment. She was gesturing at her ear and as Kurama looked at it he flinched slightly but shook his head in negative. "Did Hiei?" she persisted not letting her anger simmer out. Kurama pursed his lips and looked away before saying, "I don't know." She curled her fingers into the comforter, glaring down at her whitening knuckles. She bit on her lip to keep from yelling at the demon seeing as he was following orders. But they were watching me struggle and didn't extend a hand of encouragement, she thought venomously, it's like I'm only a piece of bait and now he sits here to make sure the guinea pig doesn't get killed by the snake.

Her anger fueled her spirit energy which gave her strength to stand, slowly but surely. Kurama started and tried to gently push her back on the bed but she slapped his hands away. "Don't touch me," she said with a dark fury.

"You shouldn't be out of bed yet, May. You've been out for a full three days and you need to recuperate…!" he said struggling to sound calm. She looked at him directly, letting him see the cold fire in her eyes. It made him pause before he stood up straight and backed away. She clenched her teeth as she took one step then another away from the bedside and toward the window. The redhead stayed put in his place, not watching her as she walked. To preserve my pride? Yeah, right, she thought darkly.

She opened the window and leaned out of it slightly. It felt like summer. The sweet smell of crushed grass and pine trees wafted in through the window on a breeze and rustled her rather unkempt hair.

They stayed in that attitude for who knows how long? Her anger had time to simmer and then sputter out and she felt more tired than she had ever been but her pride kept her at the window, leaning against it seemingly nonchalant although it was her greatest support at the moment. Her legs were beginning to tremble however and she wondered how she was to gracefully return to the bed when she felt him draw closer to her. She almost told him to back off more for spite than anything else when she was suddenly swept up into his arms causing her to squeal in surprise.

While she attempted to gather her wits about her to fight, which was nigh impossible in the proximity and being enveloped in the scent of roses and cinnamon, Kurama walked over to the bed and set her gently in it having already pulled the covers back enough so he could pull them back over her after she was in. They were over her lap when she pushed at them belligerently allowing herself to look up into his face. She couldn't see his expression however with his back to the moon but she knew he could see at least half of hers, the moon light glancing past his shoulder and on to her cheek. He sighed what seemed a strangely impatient sound coming from him as he let himself sit on the edge of the bed, her face now awash in moonlight.

"May, why are you fighting me?" Kurama asked. She couldn't interpret his tone.

"I don't trust you," she blurted glowering at him with all the strength she could muster in her weakened state.

"If looks could kill, May, you would have Hiei outdone," he responded with an unexpectedly fond tone as he reached up and swept a black curl away from her cheek and behind her ear. She froze in shock as warmth lingered after his fingertips had already retreated. "Trust me or not, I will be out in the living room if you need anything. Don't hesitate to call," he continued through her shocked state.

After he had left the room, shutting a door almost all the way closed that she couldn't see in the darkness, she shook her head violently and even slapped her cheeks trying to get a hold on herself once more.

What in the world? She thought to herself collapsing into the pillows, the sheets half covering her legs, the warm summer breeze coming through the window with the sound of crickets. She tried to summon the feeling of distaste and contempt at his touching her face in such a manner as he just had but it was forced out by a different feeling—one she didn't feel the strength to face at this point. She huffed in frustration, rolling over to bury her face in the soft pillows, a faint trace of the scent of rose petals clinging to her hair as she willed herself into sleep.

"No!" May cried in alarm, sitting bolt upright and reaching out for… something? Someone? She looked around the room she was in quickly, sunlight slipping in through a window to her far right. When her vision returned forward Kurama was entering the room in a rush.

"May?" Her heart was still hammering but she couldn't remember what had caused her to snap awake as she had but she felt a left over chill in her heart, a heartbreaking cry escaping her lips as though she were the last human on earth. Then she started to cry. He sighed gently, not the out of patience sigh he had expelled last night but one of relief that it was no more than a nightmare. He moved to the bed, and sat himself on the edge, placing a long-fingered hand on her shin. He jerked back slightly in surprise when she threw herself at him, the young girl's arms about his waist, her head against his startled heart.

His heart melted when he realized how much she was quivering as he allowed his arm to wrap around her soon joining it with the other so he was more or less hugging her to him.

May found comfort in the scent that always clung to the demon and she could feel her heart slow. She could not stop shaking however it seemed so she held fast pressing her ear against his heart, her eyes screwed shut.

May wasn't sure how long Kurama allowed her to stay in his arms but eventually, he picked her up with a blanket wrapped about her and took her into the living room of what turned out to be a small suite in a hotel. He convinced her to let go so that he could make her something to eat and promised that he wouldn't leave her sight. She sat curled up in the blanket on a comfortable couch but sat so that she could see Kurama at work. The room had an extremely open floor plan and so he had been truthful when he had told her she would always be able to see him.

The irony wasn't lost on her that just the night before she had been refusing any comfort from him, refusing to trust him and now… she was highly dependent. Part of her shrunk from that particular realization but the other half encouraged it—her spiritual awareness told her nothing that would encourage distrust. She continued to tremble—not quite a shiver—as she watched him throw ingredients into a medium sized pot and she wondered if the Makai had such places as supermarkets and the like. However, upon questioning the demon, he had laughed softly.

"I am afraid not. A lot of these things, I'll admit, I brought from the human world. I guess I have simply lived too long as a human to completely go back comfortably into the demon way of life," he said, all of it without looking at her as he continued to chop up different vegetables and such. Another pot he had already set to boiling and a mug sat on the counter. Watching him curiously, she saw him carefully drape an herbal tea bag into the mug before pouring the water in. It smelled of fresh sun-ripened raspberries and she suddenly wished to be outside, picking berries. There was a door, however, leading off onto a verandah that stood wide open allowing the warm summer breeze to drift in as it pleased.

Presently, he walked over with the mug after having put some lemon and sugar in it and handed it to her carefully. She had had to unwrap the blanket from her arms to free her hands and taking it, her hands briefly touched the backs of his

She felt a warm shock from the contact but pushed it aside with a quiet thank you as she breathed in the aroma of raspberries in the sunshine. Kurama returned to the meal preparations and she let her gaze look out over the verandah into the impressively tall stand of trees. They had to be hundreds of years old to be as big as they were.

"I know we are in the Makai, but where are we?" she asked finally returning her gaze to him as he walked over and sat on the arm of the couch she was curled up on.

"We are on the 13th floor of a hotel on Hang-neck Island," he answered. He smiled at her expression after hearing the name of the little piece of the Makai they had been sent to.

"And why are we here?" she asked after she'd gotten over the thought.

Kurama's expression turned sober as his gaze drifted to the trees for a few moments, debating, before returning to her inquisitive blue eyes. "Suffice it to say you are safer here than anywhere else at the present moment." Her brow furrowed when he didn't seem to be forthcoming with anymore information than that. She looked down into her mug, the tea being half gone already before she took another drink of it.

She realized he must have meant that Ishi was still on the loose and that thought made her shiver. What had his reaction been to the earring being removed? She was startled when she suddenly felt the back of Kurama's hand on her forehead.

"Are you cold? You don't seem to have a fever," Kurama said, the concern returning to his voice and face.

"No, no! It was just a random shiver. Nothing to be concerned about," she said ducking away from his hand, blushing at his concern. "You really needn't worry so much about me, Kurama," she continued, looking down at the mug in her hands. In so doing she missed the expression he wore that would have felt nostalgic had she seen it.

"Of course," was his only response.

* * *

_Casidhe here! I apologize for my tardiness in posting this next installment. To be honest, I had not realized that it had been such a long time since I updated any of my stories until a reviewer for Move Along into the Twilight commented on my sudden hiatus. So here it is! I hope it wasn't too boring. I hate not giving action in chapters but sometimes you just need a little base for what is to come, you know?_

_Anyway, as for my shout-outs!_

_Reviews:_

_NinjaofSilence: Can I just smile? Silly._

_Nevvy: I am glad you are willing to forgive so many of my flaws for the sake of your love for my writing. I also like how you think I have it all planned out… Haha!_

_Murashigure: If I could, I would express my sincerest apologies to you. I was over the moon when I received your review for its length an insight into all the different aspects of my fanfic. It has been about two months but I hope that you still remember my story enough (or that you liked it well enough to re-read it if needed). It has been a rough two months and time passes a lot quicker when one isn't paying attention. I will try to do better about at least updating once a month but I hope to update more than that._

_Again, sorry for the delay especially after such praise from you but I hope you will forgive me with its length._

_Followers: Murashigure, ChocolateKittey, Rose's Fox, LoveFollowsMe, ryu-f_

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_Thank you so much for your support!  
CB_


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